THOUGHTS ON INDIGO 

Indigo slowly began to emerge while working on my East Port of Spain series, which is featured in the latter half of my catalogue. This is the first time the content of one of my solo exhibitions has made such a divergent turn. 

My Indigo paintings are inspired by the recent death of my beloved Lurline “Ma Lou” Butler, who was my family’s helper in Jamaica for 45 years. Indigo is also inspired by the ‘Lost Children’ of alcoholic families – some of whom I grew up with, some of whom have passed from this earth in tragic and sad circumstances, far too young. 

Indigo began in darkness. Endings, loss, pain, grief – I struggle to make difficult experiences comprehensible by exploring intense feelings in paint. The color Indigo is rich, beautiful and soulful – dark, deep, infinite – it expresses the Blues perfectly. Pain and suffering are the fertile soil of the Soul. 

My painting, like my life, is often in a transitional stage. Indigo is a response to feeling vulnerable. As both visible and invisible boundaries collapse, I surrender to the Unknown. In creating new work, I am somewhat of a beginner. I am free to be curious, to explore, to experience uncertainty and a lack of resolution – and to begin anew. 

During my creative process, I wrestle with fear, sadness, mortality, and my psychological and spiritual terrain. It is a full experience, from which healing, hope and joy emerge. Indigo is a reflection of my Soul. 

THOUGHTS ON PAINTING 

I feel a great enthusiasm to create, to convert my experiences into paint. I create for myself, and I create so that I may share my experiences with others. My work is a record of the world as I experience it. The origin of my work is the experience of my own life. The concerns of my heart are truth and love, and I paint what is important to me. Painting, for me, is a spiritual commitment. My work strives towards wholeness. My Soul needs quiet time to make meaning of what is happening in my life. My studio creates that sacred space for me. 

My creative process is deeply challenging and nourishing. The practice of making Art is what matters most to me. The end product is a by product of a mysterious journey. My work is anchored in reality, and in the imagination. It is an intuitive response to the call of God – who is omnipresent – from which all energy flows. 

As I paint, my insights are layered in hour upon hour of observation and memory. Individuality is explored as part of the whole. It is a solitary endeavor, yet it is also a knowing that I am not alone. Transcending my personal self, I experience being an inseparable part of humanity, and Creation. 

I feel immeasurable gratitude to so many great artists, filmmakers, literary writers and musicians/songwriters/singers/poets, too many to mention here, who inspire and influence me throughout my life. 

-Roberta Stoddart 2014 

TRIBUTE TO LURLINE BUTLER (MA LOU) R.I.P. 

My Indigo paintings are inspired by the recent death of my beloved Lurline Butler, who was my family’s helper in Jamaica for 45 years. “Ma Lou”, I dedicate my Indigo exhibition to you. 

When I was a child, just like a Mother, you watched over me. You bathed me, cooked for me, fed me, dressed me, and protected me. You gave my family your time, and your love. We did not deserve you. You are gone, and I feel heartbroken. You are an inseparable part of me. Tender memories of you will live forever in my heart. Goodbye, Ma Lou. I will always love you and miss you.