Feathering the Nest

50 x 82cm / 20 x 32 inches
Available for sale: $4000

This is the second painting in a series called Literacy of The Body.
 
This painting is about celebrating older women;
Experiences lived by the body,
In the body;
It’s about the resilient spirit of our bodies.
And about celebrating our changing bodies,
Laying down self destructive criticism and sweeping away the criticism we’ve taken on by society and others about our bodies.
It’s about acceptance -
Self acceptance.
An acknowledging of strength, courage and resilience.
 
Lilies and feathers, both seemingly fragile but incredibly resilient. These directly relate to the intention of this series of work: celebrating the body. Lilies have many symbolic meanings- but in this work I focus on the specific meaning of renewal. These lilies sprung up everywhere in our garden after the rain- utterly beautiful despite the drastically wet conditions. Feathers- light and fragile, but bring warmth and comfort unlike any other material.
 
I have used  many, many  glaze layers to build up the oil paint to replicate skin. My layering technique uses a rapid fluttering of the brush to infuse the painting with as much  of my energy as possible, while replicating the complex layering of skin. The process moves between chaos and abandon.
The whole is a mediative dance.

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