Thinking about identity and the way we present ourselves.
Painting Mika's face as she paints her own face

"Face Painting"

Thinking about turning the gaze back out. Her body posture is intimate and inviting but her gaze is confrontational. I was responding to Balthus's Girl and Cat, which I had been thinking about at the time. The young girl in his painting has a look of confidence while at the same is being over-sexualized. This is problematic mostly because of her age but it also perpetuates an image of women as objects of male fantasy.

It's been ages since I've posted.
In a week I will be traveling to Medellin, Colombia to join artists Susan Mains and Asher Mains at Art Fair Medellin 2016.
Here's a bit of what I have been working on

"The Thinker"
Portrait of Carly. Contemplative and existing outside of the conversation of the male gaze.

"Duality" My One-Woman show

 Photos from the opening of my show, Duality, at Art and Soul Gallery in Grenada on February 12th

 

 

Nondualism

I have been really obsessed with the concept of duality in my work and have focused on the inner conflict that comes with negotiating two sides of one's self. Illustrating this battle, this tug-of-war, in different ways has provided me with rich metaphorical images. And the conversations these images have spurred have been really interesting, everyone can relate in some way to this feeling of being pulled back and forth by different voices inside their heads, by feeling torn and stuck between parts of themselves.

My mother-in-law visited a few weeks ago and shared an experience she had in a class on Buddhism. In it she learned about the concept of Nondualism that essentially teaches that there is no difference between the inner self and the spiritual, higher self (that is simplifying it a lot). Which got me thinking about the way I have been approaching this concept. Two sides are necessary for a balanced existence. We all have these dual sides to ourselves, good and evil, male and female, passive and aggressive, yin and yang. Opposite, opposing forcing that are actually complimentary and create wholeness.


Here are photos the progress of my most recent painting in this series

"The Instigator"
Watercolor on paper
18" x 24"