34" x 28"
Acrylic on watercolor paper
Original sold • limited edition prints available

The “Voyage of Virtue” was painted vertically (the small red mark will be in the upper right corner when viewed right side up) during a private abstract painting workshop with young artist Kris Q, at my open walled studio. I was giving a demonstration of gestural painting, and as I stood up from dipping a large brush into a bucket of paint on the studio floor, my entire arm (with dripping brush in hand) made an expansive circular movement in front of the easel - only to lightly touch the paper at the lower center.

To dissuade the drizzles from traveling any further down the paper,  I dropped the paint brush and quickly removed the piece from the easel. As the painting lay on the studio floor, Kris and I walked around it, viewing the images from all sides. The profile of a woman's head and upper torso became clear within seconds. We were both intrigued and Kris said something like "now how cool is that!" And off to his easel he went.

Naming the painting happened a couple of weeks later as I was sitting at my desk, looking across my office at this piece and pondering a current issue with a gallery manager. Then I remember thinking that the image of the woman's head reminded me of the carved masthead's from the Viking era. Then the title popped into my head as I said, this situation is truly a voyage . . . of virtue!

With a little more thought about titling the piece “Voyage of Virtue” alongside the housekeeping issue at hand with the manager and the metaphorical meaning of the carvings on the Viking ships . . . this painting spoke to me about staying true to one's course, in light of adversarial challenges and to be open for creative solutions. A voyage of virtue indeed. Thanks much Kris for being an energetic participant in the workshop and the creation process of this piece.

Brenda Heim, 2003