|
Why I have chosen this subject matter:
"When my father passed away, he left to me a collection of early American
coins that I came to realize he had been working on since he was a boy. Unfortunately
he did not share this collection and its history with me while he was still alive. Upon receiving this gift, I was enamored and in awe of the intrinsic beauty and
history of these gems/currency. I began to study them and gather as much
information pertaining to them as possible. To my amazement I found that the stories
behind our early American currency and their attributes are absolutely fascinating. Early
in my studies I began to understand how each coin has its own individual make up by combining the obverse, the reverse, the date, metal structure, die
distribution and mint mark. The information regarding these individual characteristics, in combination with the history
as to why each particular coin exists, has intrigued me to create these portraits.
Painting American coinage is the most inspirational and challenging subject
matter that I’ve ever come across.
I have developed a sheer love of early American coins and will continue my
father’s collection for my son. The first painting of the 1893 Morgan which began this series was actually created because I realized what it would take to fill the 1893 S space in my Morgan collection for my son, so I decided to paint one for him. I consider this series to be a tribute to my father, the artistry and history of American coinage and
the United States of America. God bless."
-K. A. Godinho
|
|
|
