Catherine D. Lawhon

Keep Playing Dress Up
oil on canvas
20 x 12 in.

Keep Your Posture
oil on canvas
16 x 8 in.

Seeking women and delving into their methods of handling facets of aging is a perpetual and fascinating quest for me. There is always an element of doubt or disenchantment present in their faces — but the core messages detected are confidence and hope and are universally applicable.

Each time I paint a mature woman, I ask, “How do you counter ‘feeling old’?” Inevitably, because she has given it much thought, her answer is quick and begins with “Keep . . . .” “Keep your posture!” “Keep dancing!” “Keep volunteering — it makes your own concerns pale in comparison.” And my answer? “Keep Playing Dress Up!” This work is a self-portrait and part of my “Keep Her” Series which are portrait sketches in oil — not “finished portraits” because these women will ‘keep progressing.’
Age: 68

© Catherine D. Lawhon