“Pretending To Be Brave”
48″x48″ acrylic on canvas
Just about completed, I think. Both paintings have a completely different feel to them. One feels cool, and the other warm. One bold, the other quiet. Both appear a bit mysterious.
“Bones Glow Through Skin”
36″x36″ acrylic on canvas
Honored to have been invited to participate in this super curated exhibit. Transformation of the raw bowl into a healing vessel had its roots in the loss of my lovely mother several months ago. That event sparked a new group of figurative paintings featuring strong, confident women with ever bigger and more extravagant hair, wig or headgear. Each painting became more outrageous, symbolizing fearlessness, freedom to go out of bounds, and permission to be exceptional. For the bowl, I used its curvature to take the idea even further, with the headpiece so large it circles the vessel, enfolding the figure in a protective embrace.
Can you tell I was a bit out of my comfort zone, painting small and circular!? Normally I stand, use large brushes, and fling paint energetically. Happily, I think the results with the bowl are as outrageous and fearless as the work on flat canvas.
Tottering
An Alchemical Vessel
11″ diameter by 3″ high ceramic bowl, acrylic and graphite
Alchemical Vessels 2015
Curators:
Sondra N. Arkin, Artist & Independent Curator | Philip Barlow, Associate Commissioner, DC Department of Insurance, Securities & Banking; Board Member, District of Columbia Arts Center & Millenium Arts Salon | Chuck Baxter, Artist | Robert Devers, Professor of Fine Arts and Ceramics, Corcoran School of the Arts + Design, George Washington University | Thomas Drymon, Curator, doris-mae | Charlie Gaynor, Realtor and Photographer, member of the Mid City Artists | Aneta Georgievska-Shine, Lecturer in Art History, University of Maryland and Smithsonian Institution | George Hemphill, Gallery Director, Hemphill | Francie Hester, Visual Artist | Don Kimes, Professor, Director Studio Art Program, American University Department of Art; Artistic Director, Visual Arts at Chautauqua Institution | Zofie Lang, Artist | Mary Liniger, Executive Director, Art Enables | Akemi Maegawa, Artist | Jayme McLellan, Director & Founder, Civilian Art Projects | Twig Murray, Gallery Director, Athenaeum Gallery | Victoria Reis, Co-Founder, Executive & Artistic Director, Transformer | Nancy Sausser, Curator and Exhibitions Director, McLean Project for the Arts | Andy Shallal, Founder, Busboys and Poets | Stan Squirewell, Artist
“Night Poem” by Washington DC Artist Leslie Nolan
40″Wx60″H
I just finished this large piece, and at the last minute I decided I liked it best in a vertical vice horizontal formal. The cool thing is that when hung vertically the right side looks terrifically interesting with the drips against the bare canvas around the edge. Installed in a room in the house, this artwork has an enigmatic, yet rich feel, because I used some gray Duron wall paint the same as the wall color. With a black chair in front of it the painting enhances the room, conveying an ultra modern chic. It’s not meant to be decorative, however. Read into the image whatever you like – seascape, landscape, fencing, snowy evening, icy roadway…It’s up to you.
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