“Embodiment” – 30″ x 40″ mixed media abstract on canvas

Description

This mixed media painting is a story about our bodies (though told through my perspective as a woman), and the things we’ve been told by others, and the stories we’ve told ourselves. My own “battle” against and within my body is not unlike so many others out there. I have worked hard to accept, overcome, and love my body after years of doubt, shame, and confusion.

The nude sketches on this painting were cut and pasted from nude studies I did in college and kept for over 20 years! I was so nervous to draw a naked woman back then, but found the process so wonderful. I loved the model’s confidence, and the practice itself was about nonjudgemental study of the human form. There was no shame, no sexuality, no expectation. Just a functional creation that housed that particular human. Alas, if only that’s all bodies were?

Additionally, this was painted on an old used canvas I had messed around with several years ago, seemingly in another lifetime. It was begging to be painted over, so there’s some lovely texture and underlayers that help give this new painting more depth and life!

Mixed media painting includes: acrylic paint, marker on newsprint, oil pastels, and metallic paint pen