Mother and Son painting by Faye Hall
(The following is Part 1 of a series of paintings by Signpost staff, Faye Hall. The inspiration for the paintings came from photographs Steve Bell brought back from Bangladesh in 2008. To view other paintings in the series, see the links at the bottom of the page.)
When I started my new job working for Steve Bell at Signpost Music, I had no idea what was in store for me. The story of getting the job in the first place is a miracle in itself, and I have complete confidence that I am in the place where God intended me to be.
Steve had just come back from one of his trips with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, and as a staff, we looked at all of his photos and listened to his stories about the amazing, resilient and beautiful people he met on his travels. As an artist, I was particularly inspired looking at the gorgeous faces, and my desire to paint started percolating. I have always loved painting people, and Steve’s talent for photography was a perfect resource for unique, original material.
I hadn’t painted seriously for years. I had worked as an advertising artist, raised my children, lost my first husband, started a new career as an administrative assistant and finally remarried the same year I started this job. I didn’t even think I was particularly good at oil painting.
The first two paintings I did are from Steve’s trip to Bangladesh and India in 2007 with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. He met this elderly mother and her son about an hour south of Calcutta in a rural village in the region of West Bengal. Steve said, “The village is a notorious junction for the slave trade that still infects our humanity. Here we visited a project that rescues young women from this tragic reality; housing them and helping them heal and re-integrate with the community while providing food and education. Canadian Foodgrains Bank supports food-for-work and flood response projects in the region.
Smiling Woman painting by Faye Hall
The woman in the paintings was the oldest person in the village: 83 years and a body that bares the evidence of a life lived in chronic malnourishment. She had a lovely spirit and hugged me enthusiastically after I showed her the portrait that I had taken of her. She was very smiley until she was posing for the camera. I couldn’t convince her that the uninhibited toothless grin was what had charmed me most.” (The fact that she smiled all the time except when he took a picture, is the reason I called the painting “Smiling Woman” – FH.)
- Faye Hall, Director of Order & Fulfillment for Signpost Music
More about Steve Bell’s Humanitarian efforts…
To view other paintings in this series click below:
Posted on September 28th
[...] Part One [...]
Posted on September 28th
[...] Part One [...]
Posted on September 28th
[...] Part One [...]
Posted on July 17th
These paintings are haunting, soul-searching and
basicly, quite sad.
It would be lovely to see more of your unique work.
Posted on July 17th
Faye and Steve;
I myself, am an artist as well, with my medium of choice being acrylics; But sometimes I mix mediums which can be really challenging and fun! One thing I would enjoy seeing here, is the original photos Steve took. I enjoy observing an artists perception and influence on what she/he sees and how the painting will (hopefully) differ slightly form the photograph.
I am truly impressed by your work Faye. People ,I find, are what I practice the most as I’m not naturally gifted at interpreting proportion. I am curious about the background. The muted green hues are really beautiful. What is in the actual photograph there? thank you, Betsy
Posted on July 17th
These are incredible paintings Faye.I’d enjoy seeing some more of your work.Would be nice to get together withyou and Darrell sometime!
Posted on July 16th
Faye, these pictures are WONderful! I don’t have the photographs to compare your pictures, but the photos cannot possible be any more expressive than your oils. Thanks for sharing your work!
Posted on July 16th
Oh Faye, I am so touched by your Indian portraits.