Rebekah Major, a Bristol artist with roots in Mount Hope Farm and the local schools, was especially struck by Prince's death last week.
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Rebekah Major, 35, grew up in Bristol and attended the public school until high school when she attended St. Mary's Academy Bay View where s he was an avid equestrian, scuba diver and art enthusiast. Her mother, Kristine Major, worked at the Bristol Town Hall. Her father, Robert Major, owns Preservation Cooperative in Warren. He was a member of the Bristol Historic District Commission from 1991 through 2004, serving as chairman for six years. Her younger brother is Tobias. She spent a great deal of her childhood at Mount Hope Farm. her grandfather, Charlie Fouty, was the caretaker of the estate for nearly 50 years.
Rebekah Major, a Bristol artist with roots in Mount Hope Farm and the local schools, was especially struck by Prince's death last week. The influential artist died Thursday, April 21, at the age of 57. An intensely private celebrity endowed with tremendous talent and nearly universal acclaim, Prince is Ms. Major's favorite musician. She heard of his death while visiting the green acres she frequented as a child.
"I work at a day program for adults focusing on the arts. I had brought a group to Mount Hope Farm to take a walk and do some pencil sketches. One of the ladies who attends the program actually checked her Facebook while we were there and that's how I found out," she said.
While seemingly everyone with a Facebook page or Twitter profile had a Prince story to share in the wake of his death, Ms. Major can truly claim tribute. She began a project called “365 Days of Prince” in March of last year as an artistic exercise. She drew a picture of Prince every day. Not scribbles or sketches, full-blown portraits of Prince in all manner of poses and situations.
"He was always known to be mysterious and eccentric. I think because he is so mysterious people often want to know what his life is really like. They want to be entertained by the quirkiness of it all," she said.
"So it's fun for me to draw him doing all sorts of crazy activities because of his mysterious nature. The public's mind runs away with curiosity when thinking about the combination of mysterious and eccentric. I love him for it. I think theres a lot to be said about staying true to yourself and its something I always strive for."
Ms. Major is an illustrator, mostly, working in pen and ink, then watercolor. She also does stop motion animation, Acrylic paint, pencil, print making, mixed media. Her summers spent with her brother on Mount Hope Farm were highlighted by creativity and imagination, which drew her to the artist's life.
"I think because the farm was a bit isolated we found various ways to entertain ourselves. We always made our own board games, drew cartoons, made fake treasure maps dying them with tea bags. My parents and my grandparents always encouraged us to be creative. They also made sure we had lots of paint and clay," she said.
The clay and paints explored in Bristol's beautiful green jewel eventually found their way to the Purple One.
"I am influenced by artists who are very much themselves. I think Individuality is such a gift. When you stay true to that you free your soul and that's when you are able to leave your mark on society."
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