>> FROM AN EARLY AGE, LAURA RADWELL DREAMED OF
BEING AN ARTIST.
WHEN SHE BEGAN TO WIND DOWN HER BUSINESS, SHE DECIDED TO GO BACK
TO HER DREAM OF BEING A PAINTER.
TODAY SHE WORKS OUT OF HER STUDIO AT COTTAGE STREET IN EAT
HAMPDEN CREATING LARGE-SCALE PAINTINGS THAT FOCUS ON
ATMOSPHERE AND HER INNER IMPRESSIONS OF THE LANDSCAPE.
DAVE FRAZIER VISITED HER SCHOOL RECENTLY AND SHARES HER STORY.
♪ >> I DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE A
PLAN IN MIND.
SOMETIMES I HAVE A COLOR, A FEELING IN MIND, AND I JUST LET
SOMETHING EMERGE.
RAT AT ONE POINT IN MY WORKING LIFE
I NOTICED EVERYTHING WAS GRAPH AT A
-- GRAVITATING TOWARDS THE VISUAL AND THAT WAS TRYING TO
SATISFY MY DREAM.
AND IN THE BACK OF MY MIND I KNEW I REALLY WANTED TO PAINT,
WHICH I HAD DONE FOR THREE OR FOUR YEARS IN THE 1980s,
ENCOURAGED BY A MENTOR WHO WAS A LOCAL ARTIST, AND HE GAVE ME AN
OLD PAINT BOX AND SOME TUBES OF PAINT AND BRUSHES.
AND SAID, YOU SHOULD BE PAINTING.
AND THAT REALLY TRIPPED A WIRE, AND YET I COULDN'T DO IT FULL
TIME AT THAT POINT.
IT WAS THE 1980s, AND THAT'S WHEN I STARTED MY BUSINESS TO
EARN A LIVING AND TAKE CARE OF MY KIDS.
AND I RAN THAT BUSINESS FOR THE BETTER PART OF 30 YEARS UNTIL
ABOUT FOUR YEARS AGO AT WHICH POINT I SAID, OKAY, THIS IS IT.
THIS IS TIME.
THIS IS MY TIME, AND I HAVE TO FULFILL THIS DREAM.
>> SOMETIMES I WAKE UP IN THE MORNING WITH COLORS ON MY MIND.
THEY MAY HAVE COME TO ME IN DREAMS.
THEY MAY HAVE COME TO ME FROM SOMETHING I SAW THE EVENING
BEFORE.
OR THE DRIVE INTO THE STUDIO IN THE MORNING.
BETWEEN NORTH HAMPDEN AND EAST HAMPDEN WHERE MY STUDIO IS AT
COTTAGE STREET IS ONLY 12 MINUTES BUT THERE ARE SOME
BEAUTIFUL FIELDS AND WILD THINGS THAT I SOMETIMES SEE, AND THE
CHANGE OF THE SEASONS, I'M VERY IN TUNE TO THE COLORS AND TONES
OF THE ATMOSPHERE REALLY THAT CAN AFFECT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I
OPEN THE DOOR TO THE STUDIO.
I OPEN THE PAINTS, AND I TYPICALLY WILL MIX A PALETTE.
I THINK IN TRADITIONAL WORKING STYLES YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO LAY IT
OUT IN A PARTICULAR ORDER.
YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO HAVE YOUR WHOLE ARRAY SO YOU CAN MIX
ANYTHING.
I DON'T DO THAT.
I THINK THAT I'M JUST UNSCHOOLED AND I'M A BIT REBELLIOUS, SO I
MIX THE COLORS THAT I LIKE, THAT I WANT TO WORK WITH ON THAT
PARTICULAR DAY AND I'LL PUT THE CANVASS ON THEEESLE AND I'LL
JUST -- CANVAS ON THE BOARD AND LET IT
RIP.
>> I SLOWLY CAME TO REALIZE THAT A SMALL SPACE DOESN'T WORK.
THE SIZES OF THE PAINTINGS HAVE GROWN.
NOW I LIKE PAINTING 24 BY 24, 36 BY 36, 40 BY 40.
40 BY 50.
IT'S GETTING LARGER, AND I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO GO FROM HERE.
I AM THINKING ABOUT A RENOVATION TO MY STUDIO THAT WOULD ALLOW ME
TO PIN VERY LARGE CANVASS ON A VERTICAL WALL BUT I HAVEN'T
QUITE GOT THERE YET.
I WAS HANDED SOME, WHAT WE CALL CHIPPY BRUSHES.
YOU BUY THEM AT HARDWARE STORES AND THEY COST UNDER $2 FOR A
VARIETY OF SIZES, I CAME TO REALLY APPRECIATE THEM BECAUSE
THEY ARE ROUGH AND THEY SHOW THE BRUSH STROKE, AND, TO ME THAT
EQUATES WITH SOME KIND OF EMOTION AND SOME KIND OF
SPONTANEITY, AND I LIKE USING THEM.
PLUS I CAN THROW THEM AWAY.
I CAN WASH THEM ONCE OR TWICE AND THEN I CAN THROW THEM AWAY
WITHOUT FEELING ANY GUILT.
>> I THINK THERE IS A CERTAIN KIND OF A MYSTERY IN THE
PAINTINGS, GIVEN THAT THEY DON'T REPRESENT ACTUAL PLACES, AND
OFTEN I'M ASKED WHERE IS THAT PLACE?
AND I WILL SAY, IT IS NOT A PLACE.
IT'S A PLACE THAT YOU CAN DEFINE.
IT'S A PLACE THAT YOU CAN GO TO, IF YOU SO WISH.
I COULD SAY THAT I'M HAVING THE TIME OF MY LIFE.
I'M VERY GRATEFUL.
I'M VERY EXCITED.
I FEEL HOPEFUL THAT I'LL HAVE A LOT OF TIME LEFT, BECAUSE I HAVE
SO MANY IDEAS AND SO MANY THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO EXPLORE.
THIS IS A DREAM COME TRUE.