The Pleasures of Tending 2018

Carrie Graber's painting, "The Pleasures of Tending" made with oil on canvas, dives into a world of domesticity and reflection, rendered in smooth, dreamy greens, yellows, and browns. I'm imagining Carrie in the studio, mixing colours and moving the brush, building up the scene layer by layer. I wonder what she was thinking about when she made this? I feel a touch of humour, a playful nod to the mid-century vibes with that green hoover and the lady's yellow dress. The paint is thinly applied, creating a smooth surface, yet I see a complexity in the colour choices. It’s like she's asking, what does it mean to make a painting of cleaning? The narrative elements remind me of David Hockney's sun-drenched California interiors, but with a quieter, more introspective twist. What connects them both is a kind of painterly meditation on everyday life. Painting is a process of seeing and thinking. Carrie's painting reminds us that art is always in conversation, bouncing ideas around across time.