Gallery

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Prices upon request.
Some work available as limited-edition Giclee prints
Please contact Ms. Motherwell at Jmotharts@aol.com for details.

Recent Work
"In Jeannie's work, which combines painting with photographs . . . there is play between shadow and light, water and boats, doorways and windows, that sometimes shows a glimpse of what might be Provincetown harbor, but more often is an obscure, sunlight-suffused window into a world that we can't quite see. Almost always, the work feels hopeful, as if there were something beyond those windows . . ."
— Peter Alson, Author

Veil Series
The veil-like imagery in some of my new pictures gives the illusion of foreground, middle ground and background without the necessity of a horizon. The veils create light, form, and contrast while maintaining the landscape and seascape theme.
— Jeannie Motherwell, Cambridge, MA 2008

In 2006, I began a series of paintings and collages entitled "Patricia Marie" — an homage to a fishing vessel that sank during a storm in the mid 1970's during my first winter in Provincetown. I was acquainted with several of Patricia Marie's crew, all of whom perished, and hence moved to commemorate 30+ years since their passing. My 2007 solo show at Lyman-Eyer Gallery was dedicated in its entirety to the loss of the Patricia Marie and her crew.

2003-2004
This work intimates abstracted landscapes and seascapes inspired by the Province Lands on Cape Cod where I have spent many a summer. With digital photography and other mixed media, my new collages incorporate acrylic paint and vibrant color with earlier themes and imagery.

In early 2003 my work took a new direction. It characterizes the push-pull of a horizon line while maintaining the abstract. There is less emphasis on black and more emphasis on painterliness. There is still a daydream quality throughout.

1998-2003

Elegy 911:
An American Tragedy
2001
Collage
18" x 24"

Giclee prints available

The abstract forms, with a heavy emphasis on black, inspired this homage to the tragedy on September 11, 2001.

What constitutes a totally abstract landscape from a more traditional one is whether or not there is a horizon line. This canvas "plays" with both concepts simultaneously, thus fooling one's eye.

The image in Lorrain is inspired by one of Giotto's images representing 'vices and virtues' from his chapel in Padua. It is one of a series of paintings portraying themes like despair, anger, charity, and hope. Lorrain is the name of the paper that is used in the collage.

The elements in The Calling are fragments found lying around my studio. The play between the real and the more abstract imagery, coupled with the overall colors in blue, black and white, is what intrigued me while creating it. The window effect serves as a lure, drawing the viewer into the picture.

Eyes, like windows, have been a predominant theme in my work. I was particularly intrigued by these eyes that have a forlorn look and one of deep longing. The frame adds to its visual lure and guides one more deeply into the picture.

The backdrop for this painting is Andy Warhol's lithograph, "orange with a 24 car crash" which sounded like the perfect metaphor for divorce. The small panel is from my "virtues & vices" series inspired by Giotto's chapel in Padua.

In 1999, Tabitha Vevers, an artist friend of mine, invited me to her studio to see her new work. She and her husband had just returned from a visit to Italy. She showed me a book with many of the "vices and virtues" Giotto portrayed at his chapel in Padua. I was so moved by these images that I began a series of small paneled paintings of my own. Anger, charity, fear, and despair were some of the feelings that I portrayed. They were familiar to me, having recently experienced a divorce and the challenges it brought with it being a single mother. The piece is dedicated to my daughter Rebecca.

During the summer, I paint by the sea. The view from my studio window of 30 years is that of a huge expansive bay. In "Spilled Milk," the view is coupled with my rendition of despair, inspired by Giotto's "vices and virtues" figures at his chapel in Padua. The imagery speaks of the uncertainty of my lifelong summer home, which was subsequently sold.

This is one of the first collages I created following a 10-year hiatus from painting. The color surrounding the boat is disturbing, but believable in an odd sort of way. The text is by my friend, artist Jim Banks.

This is a collage from a series of paintings I began many years ago reflecting Provincetown's harbor and fishing fleet—a view I have had from my studio of 30 years. A friend of mine emailed me a description of his view out of an airplane window while flying from New York to San Francisco.

This piece was resurrected from almost 20 years ago. Originally a painting that I was never completely satisfied with, I reworked it using collage elements incorporating photographs and images reminiscent of Provincetown's once vibrant fishing fleet. While the larger triangular shapes mirror Dragger's or trawlers treading water, the images are also a reminder of my daughter and me walking side by side.

The Window Series
This is a series of collages entitled "Window." The entire series is a variation on a theme from my earlier collage, "Georgia On My Mind." All of them were inspired by Georgia O'Keefe's paintings. The first of the series is entitled "Carnations."

Georgia O'Keefe has been a powerful influence over the years. The image of a cross is hers, and I merely expounded upon it. The depth of the frame mirrors its sacred nature. I am particularly intrigued with paintings that have small daubs of color suggesting of a much larger area.

This is a collage depicting one of the fishing boats in the harbor in Provincetown, Massachusetts.

The Rosetta Series
Each collage from this series uses repeat images of a woman named Rosetta. The image of her face was taken in the early 1920s.

Rosetta:
California Dreamin'
2003
Collage on canvas
21" x 11"