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"

Overheard

I've had a slow return to my painting routine after my body was destroyed by a parasite. But I'm fully recovered now and starting this new year with a new blog post of the progress I have made on my latest painting.

Duality, secrets, gossip and hearsay. I've been thinking about information and what we think is secret. What we say in confidence. The complicity of friends and the deceptive nature of ourselves.

 

 

Intake

I've been working more on double portraits that speak to internal conversations and struggles. Feelings of being torn in half, conflicting, neither and all. Battling voices in our heads that try to sway us in opposite directions.

Studios

Since I left home 13 years ago every apartment I have lived in has had a dedicated space for making art. I have created studios in back porches, second bedrooms and in carved out corners of living rooms. The amount of space I have had has varied over the years and now, painting in the smallest nook ever of our tiny apartment, I am producing more work than I ever have before.

Looking into other people's studios is like watching performers getting ready back stage. You get this glimpse into this very private moment, their personal space. I visited Dali's home in Spain and got a tour into his home studio and I was mesmerized by how he organized his art supplies and where he sat when he painted and how he laid out his brushes. Sadly, I have no record of so many of the spaces I have called studios but here is a little of what I dug up.

 

 

 

 

This last photo is where I currently work in Grenada. It's really our kitchen table but the entire corner of the room has been taken over and is now a dedicated work area.