Carla’s Carnival. This painting has the same message as “Girl with a Cat”. However, whereas in the first painting the two subjects are pure fantasy, the girls in this painting are based on real ones who were very happy to perform in a carnival. Their joy can be seen in their faces. Look at their decorations. They have arranged everything in a creative manner to sparkle and glitter with the fun of life and the energy of happiness. Their outfits are very simple, just like in the first painting, but this does not stop the subjects from having fun for the day.
When I was making this painting I was going through a very sad time because my husband was going through cancer treatment. I had the idea for this painting before I knew that he was sick but continued with this colourful concept. Working on this painting helped me to stay positive as I put all the wonderful energetic colours onto the canvas bit by bit. Sometimes I just had 10 minutes to paint, even that little fragment of time helped me get some positive energy during that terrible time in my life.
My mother, who is a tapestry weaver, really liked this painting. She made a beautiful tapestry based on it that is just the same size as the original. It is included here.