Charlotte

portrait of an old woman with a braid, intaglio print — Gwenn Seemel
*Charlotte*
2001
intaglio print on paper
5 x 5 inches

Charlotte—along with Ida and Lily—was one of my friends at the retirement home where I volunteered in high school. The image is meant to show her with her arm up on the small table in front of her and her face drooping to rest in the guarded space behind it, which is how she often sat after her stroke.

I credit the time I spent with Charlotte et al with my love for wrinkled faces and the printmaking I did in high school with helping me find my painting style. I was 16 and I barely knew how to draw when my mom signed me up for an intaglio class. Printmaking’s crosshatch-happy nature seeped into everything I did forever after.

For more about the evolution of my style, check out this video.