DRAW DRAW

DRAW I MUST.
Compelling and Honest;
It demands,
and I draw

– Cornelia Wattley

Art Collections by Cornelia Wattley

Cornelia Wattley

The publication of Cornelia's (Nela's) two volumes of  work began with her request that I take photos of her artwork. I suggested going a step further and collecting them in a book that she could give to family and friends. The process involved going to her house to photograph and catalogue her work. Along the way, I interviewed her in order to gather information for a foreword that would be understandable to people not accustomed to talking about art. I wanted it to be informative, but unpretentious. Donna assisted in editing.

You can download the Foreword here.
It includes photos by Jocelyn Knight.

Here and Now

While reseaching Nela's Creative Flow, I discovered that over the years she had amassed a collection of journals and sketchbooks. These were not intended for exhibition but were filled with visual treasures and personal observations. I suggested that eventually they would make a wonderful companion to her first book. So a year later, we worked on the here and now. The book has 180 pages, mostly full color images.

With these two books, Nela can not only look back at a life's work with pride, but also share it with friends and family who might casually know she painted but not to what extent.

In life, we do not all get recognized for the work we do. We might not have the ambition to promote ourselves. Sometimes it just needs a little encouragement.

Download the Foreword here.

– Jeremy Thornton