What do I paint?
This current body of work are portraits of men and women who are not only friends of mine but are either part of the LGBT community,or are an ally to the LGBT community. These are resilient people . The preparation for these paintings is equally as important as the paintings themselves. I first take photos of each person and from those photos I create a preliminary sketch on newsprint with charcoal. I prepare the large canvases and use large amount of gesso to make each canvas very textured. The texture alludes to the hardships they have gone through along with everyone's many imperfections .The way that I choose my subjects is very important to my process. Each one is a friend that I know personally . Some of them have very emotional stories and others are just supporters or allies of friends or family members. Before or during the photographs I conduct an interview of my subjects . Asking them to reflect and contemplate our conversation, allows me to capture their emotions in their photographs. The conversation includes discussing their journey as well as the events that took place in Orlando, because this series is a started after the Pulse club tragedy. The questions also included opinions on racial and sexual stigmas, with a follow up question to ask them if they have ever had first hand experience with stigmas. The first five photographs are meant to get the subjects comfortable in front of the camera and give them time to reflect on our conversation in order to get their genuine expressions.
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No one ever made a difference by being like everyone else.” |
Why don’t I just stop at the photographs? Why do I paint these people instead of print their portraits out? Each painting can take over fifty hours of work and even if I tried I could not make two identical paintings, while a photograph can be easily mass produced. I feel that by painting each one I can focus on their individuality and unique qualities.
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“ Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” |
Exhibition, Awards, and Publications:
- 2016-2017
- FEAR, Gulf ArtSpace Reprise Invitational Exhibition, Eastern Shore Art Association, Fairhope, AL
- Spring Hill College Student Art Exhibition , Eichold Gallery, Mobile, AL
- 5 Show, Juried Exhibition, Mobile Arts Council, Mobile, AL
- Spring Hill College Research Symposium, Excellence in Art
- Featured in PAX:Spring HIll College’s Peace and Justice online Magazine
- Spring Hill College Student Art Exhibition, Eichold Gallery,, Mobile, AL
- 2013-2014
- Spring Hill College Student Art Exhibition,Eichold Gallery, Mobile, AL
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