Banks of the Ohio

I took her by her lily white hand

And dragged her down that bank of sand

There I throwed her in to drown
I watched her as she floated down

My paintings this week tried to address an opposition I found in the Appalachian songs. I began listening to the music and was immediately drawn into the warmth and the collective joyful spirit of Will the Circle Be Unbroken and Banks of the Ohio. However, the lyrics to these songs addressed dark subjects of death, funerals and murder. I chose to paint my impressions of Banks of the Ohio. I had strong associations with colour. The yellow evokes warmth, the happiness experienced by walking along with someone you love, whereas the deep maroon colour of the second panel links with a feeling of being overwhelmed and betrayed. The river, seen flowing in the first panel, consumes the viewer in the second.