BRATTLEBORO — In "Looking Beyond: Lessons from the Death of a Sister," Rose Watson explores grief and loss following her sister’s death. She asks, "What happens when your sister, who feels more like a twin, dies?" The artist shares her experience following that devastating loss in this intimate show. “I realized that I had to stop looking at solid matter.
My sister wouldn’t be there anymore. If I wanted to see her, I had to look beyond solid shapes, beyond physical reality.” To do this, Watson began working with photographs she took in the woods near her home, expanding them until they were no longer leaves and trees and flowers but texture and color only.
She then began painting these images, drawing on Monet as an influence. She feels her sister more now, mostly through butterflies and birds, which are featured in this show. Watson is an artist who found her way back to painting as an adult.
Her paintings feature “outrageously bright colors” and she believes in expressing oneself freely. “Put whatever you want on the canvas, “just do it!”” "Looking Beyond" will open Sept. 6 at Harmony Collective, 49 Elliot St.
, with a reception from 5 to 8 p.m. during Brattleboro’s Gallery Walk and continues through the month of September.
The Harmony Collective is a vibrant and dynamic group of local artists, working in a wide variety of mediums. It is dedicated to creating an artist first space. When you visit, you will always meet at least one of our member artist.