My love for St Barts began 30 years ago. I’ve always maintained that the island inspires and awakens my consciousness, and has done so since the very beginning. While living under the influence of its charm over the course of 10 years, my paints and pastels – with an apparent will of their own – taught me that ‘we are not alone’. In 1995, I had to leave St Barts for my children’s education, taking with me some precious memories dear to my heart. However, little did I know on that morning in April 2014 – when my phone rang in the depths of the quiet upstate New York countryside, with a request for me to paint a three-paneled fresco in a private villa on St Barts – that this love affair would be re-kindled. It was certainly with a mixed feeling of joy and apprehension that I faced this unexpected, and somewhat formidable, project. I timidly tackled the first wall, and started by drawing an island house (‘case’) and vegetation, which was contrary to my previous work with pastels, when I always began with people. This time, it was as if the people were waiting to see if the decor was to their liking, so they didn’t mind being added at the end.
middle of the third panel, painting the principal character – a young girl staring out at the onlooker – completed all in one go and before anything else. Her arrival had an air of urgency, as though she had anticipated the challenge that I was about to face – the third and most difficult panel! The difficultly was not just its height but its relative position alongside the first two painted panels. The problem being that the three scenes were to have a common theme, but were also intended to be independent and without continuity, while still maintaining a balance and harmony between them.
MARION VINOT
luer et remercier cette assistance invisible et bienfaitrice. Car de moi-même, seule sans elle, je n'aurais pu réaliser cette fresque telle qu'elle est.
The mental constraints of this rigorous task temporarily separated me from the spontaneity and magic of the moment. The calming presence of the young girl’s watchful gaze helped to restore my confidence, and gave me support me while I completed the scene of timeless tranquility. She was my savior, and most certainly part of the invisible force that guided me throughout this project. In all creative work, whatever it may be, or simply in our inner peace that keeps us in the present moment, there is a magical ‘Presence’. It seems to come from elsewhere, but it is inherent within us, whether we are conscious of it or not. We can call it a ‘muse’, a ‘guide’ or a ‘divine presence’, but it is definitely a ‘force of co-creation’. It might in fact be more accurate to say that ‘we are its co-creators’, because this Presence is the ‘source of life’, the true creator. And this is what I mean by ‘we are not alone’.
Their arrival filled me with enthusiasm and reassurance, like meeting old friends; and I eagerly threw myself into the second panel, where the details of the composition seemed to take shape all at once.
Standing in front of the finished work of art – the three giant pastel panels – I couldn’t help but once again honor and give thanks to this invisible benevolent Presence, without which the fresco would not be what it is today.
From the tranquil simplicity of the first panel to the ecstatic outburst of the second, I found myself in the
Marion Vinot’s email: marionvinotpaintings@gmail.com www.tropical-mag.com
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