Heading Home
On July 8, 2020, I was lucky enough to meet two artists and learn about their artwork and lives. The following piece is a by product of that meeting. It was read and enjoyed by both prior to publishing.
Carolyn Ann Bodie Sweeney passed away on July 27, 2020. We at Chapin Magazine have chosen not to edit the article.
Beach Solace, by Sonya Diimmler
I was welcomed into Ann Bodie Sweeney’s home by Sonya Diimmler’s shy smile and a cool rush of AC. Ann’s daughter led me down the hall to meet her mom. Wearing a bright orange and pink floral blouse and a flawlessly made up face, Ann sat in a large easy chair under an elegantly draped, taupe faux fur blanket. If it weren’t for her oxygen tubes, I never would have known she was ill. I hesitated at the invisible six-foot mark, and she gave a warm smile. “Oh silly,” she said reaching her hands out, “you can’t give me anything I haven’t gotten already,” and she gave both my hands a big squeeze.
Ann Bodie Sweeney and Sonya Diimmler
Ann was diagnosed with metastasized lung cancer a month ago. She has weeks, maybe months to live. As a wife, mother, and designer, Ann has much to be proud of, but we were meeting to talk about her artwork, and with over 50 years of experience as a painter, there is a lot of it.
Every wall of the home is covered with original paintings. There are orange, purple and red sunsets, aquamarine and teal seas, sandy coastlines and miles and miles of oceans. Lavender, pink, periwinkle and moss-colored hydrangea melt into one another. A child wades quietly in swathes of green, blue, yellow, and purple water. The abstract watercolor is one of many that displays Ann’s expertise and unique use of color.
I recognize award-winning pieces like “Beautiful Evans,” which won First Place in the Crooked Creek Art League’s 2018 Fall Show. In it, a child chases bubbles with ethereal grace by the sea. “Somewhere in Sudan”—the Crooked Creek Art League’s juried 2019 “Best In Show” winner—stares earnestly out from the canvas. A cadmium orange underpainting warms the blue sky behind Columbia’s capital building in the award winning “Heart of Carolina.”
Sonya’s artwork is present too, and equally as recognizable. A woman pauses on the beach to study the horizon in “Beach Solace,” winner of People’s Choice in the 2019 Crooked Creek Art League’s annual juried show. “Four Feet” and “Brown Eyed Beggars”—both prizewinners—feature Sonya’s dogs and display their captivating warm eyes in exquisite detail.
Good artwork is exciting, and seeing it in person even more so. In person, one gets truer, intense hues, detailed textures and the scale of the work, none of which can be truly experienced from a book or a computer image. Sonya’s work highlights this phenomenon perfectly.
Ann Bodie Sweeney started taking painting lessons at age 28. As the wife of a Marine Officer, she moved around a bit, which gave her the opportunity to take painting lessons in Boston, Germany and California. Along with painting, Ann worked as a book cover designer and raised her daughter. By age 53, she and her husband left Southern California for South Carolina.
Sonya Diimmler is relatively new to the art world. It was about five years ago when Sonya’s father was sick with dementia that Sonya stayed with him on Sundays so her mom could go to church. During this time, Ann encouraged Sonya and helped her to practice art. With a lot of effort, Sonya was able to draw a picture of her dog Smedley. Ann admits, she was both stunned and happy when she saw Sonya’s drawing. “She learned how to transfer a photo to canvas, and really, she just blew it out of the water.”
Sonya Diimmler’s Boston Terrorizer 2
Looking at Sonya’s work today, it’s hard to imagine her ever being a novice. “Technically, I’m not that good, [but] once I decided to paint, I committed a hundred percent,” Sonya says modestly. She insists that her work reflects her desire to paint, not God-given talent. “When you get up and you have something you want to paint, that is a gift. I feel lucky that I get up and want to paint anything,”
Sonya is an only child, and the mother/daughter pair have always been close. They spend a lot of time together not only painting at their studio, but traveling, cooking, and learning from each other as well. Last year, they went to Portugal to paint en plein air. Plein air painting aims to capture the essence of natural life. It’s especially difficult because, unlike painting from a photograph, when you paint outdoors, time is limited, and light, shape, shadow, and color continually change.
Sonya and Ann reveling in Portugal in 2019
In spite of the difficulty, Ann enjoys painting such landscapes, and hers often contain bright, unexpected colors. Where a non-artist sees a simple blue and green marsh, Ann’s rendition of the same marsh might have orange, yellow and purple as well as blue and green. “The problem with us is that we just like to draw outside of the box,” Ann says smiling at her daughter. Sonya glances at me and softly explains, “We get excited about stuff and then we just have that [creative] energy.”
Wading Beauty by Ann Bodie Sweeney
Ann Bodie Sweeney paints en plein air in Bluffton
Sonya is of course, inspired by her mother, but animals, clouds, and landscapes―especially in abstract form―also inspire her. Uninterested in creating realistic renditions, Sonya works with oil and cold wax in her abstracts to draw out an emotional response to her work. She has been selling her landscapes on her and her mom’s website and at High Noon in Ballentine and hopes to get into a gallery more toward the coast, but she says she will always paint her beloved dogs, Smedley and Mattie. In fact, she is also currently working with Chapin Veterinary Hospital to complete four more unique dog paintings for their fence.
Several portraits line Sonya’s living room, patiently awaiting their next layer.
Sitting in the living room surrounded by beautiful art, my attention isn’t drawn to any one painting, but rather to the connection that exists between the two artists. Side by side, they chat and Sonya gently strokes her mother’s hair behind her ear. Ann reaches out to hold her daughter’s arm. Sonya leans on the arm of Ann’s recliner and rests her other arm around the back of her mother’s head. The tenderness is beautiful; their love eclipsing the art in the home.
Recently, Sonya and her mom have been spending the days going through Ann’s paintings, photos and belongings. Much of her artwork highlights Ann’s genuine love of people, God, and His creation. The mementos they share allow them to reminisce and remember a full and happy life. As someone who lost her first husband suddenly and unexpectedly, Sonya knows how hard it is to lose someone without the opportunity to say goodbye. She feels lucky to have this time with her mom.
When I ask Sonya what her plans for the future are, the humble, self-proclaimed introvert invites me to come and paint with her. “Technically, I’m not that good,” she adds, “but I do like to paint with people if you ever want to paint together.” Whether via nature or nurture, it seems artistic talent, enthusiasm, and a genuine love for community has been passed down in this family.
Heading Home by Ann Bodie Sweeney
Life, like plein air painting, is challenging; its goals, ever changing. Time is limited, and end results are rarely perfect. But if we spend our days honoring God’s creation, sharing, and showing love to one another, great things can come together in the most beautiful, if abstract ways. More than likely, we’ll have everything we need to remember a joy-filled life before heading home.
