Acrylic painting of a face.

My Paintings Of Women

Canvasses In Acrylics

My acrylic paintings are very smooth, almost silk like. I worked the acrylic paints in many glazes. The canvasses that I painted in the past were all of women, fantasy creations of aspects of myself. I basically went deep down into myself and plucked out parts to be illustrated on canvas. I am a very multifaceted and feminine person, so there was plenty to harvest. I never attempted to replicate my physical being, only the character from within.

Often I would find flowers that could reflect the character or mood of the woman in the image. The flowers served as base for the design itself, the stylized embellishments I used for the peripheral elements in a picture.

The symbolism of the flowers were carried throughout in the styling of the clothing, the furnishings, the backgrounds. I designed all things in those paintings. So they are pure fantasy.

I also used a lot of line work in these pieces, gold and silver were my choices to outline with. The decorative elements are very visible in these paintings, I just love working that way. Flowing lines and much detail are the hallmarks of my art. The gold glazes I used created a lusterous look of shimmering silk.

Acrylic painting of May Wind.

— “May Wind” — Canvas 30 inches x 40 inches —

Often I created a woman from an idea, an allegory. Above is such a case, the idea of a warm May day personified in the image of a very young woman. The gauze of the clothing is almost not there, the embellishment of her with flowers speaks of that time of year. The billowing of her attire in the balmy breezes is another manifestation of that month of May.

All but a few women were not real. When I imagined them I went into myself and pulled out the aspect to play that role I wanted, I always was in role like actors are when I developed the person. Trance like almost.

When I took on commissions to do portraits, I always ended up with my own vision of the person, the way I saw her, not the way the husband saw her or she herself even. So I made very sure that that was understood. But I did not really fully enjoy those commissions, they became hard to do because I could not get into the role, I was myself, not the other person.

Acrylic painting of a lady with orchids.

— “Heart Beat” — Canvas 14 inches x 18 inches —

The picture of the lady with orchids was one of those commissions for a portrait. The painting was well received.

I used my paintings to visually express an idea with double meaning. The following picture is such a one. “Arcadian Spring” expresses the waking up of the year and also the waking up of a girl into becoming a woman.

At the time I painted this piece I was often in New Orleans. The bayous around this area blossomed with iris flowers. The name of the cajun country is also called Arcadia, which is derived from the history of the people who live in the bayous. They came from Nova Scotia originally, an area that was claimed by the French. So I incorporated all these thoughts into this picture.

Acrylic painting of a young woman with iris flowers.

— “Arcadian Spring” — Canvas 18 inches x 36 inches —

Inspiration is never hard to come by for me. I look around me, I use my imagination, I extend stories that I hear or make up myself. So to come up with themes to paint pictures never phased me. To the contrary, I often got really impatient with myself because I had to still work on the current piece and could not go on to the next.

My work always takes a long time to do. I love detail and even when I say to myself to go simpler, it never happens, complexity is my nature. There is much complexity in the event of a wedding. I always loved them, the idea of it is so wonderful and romantic of course.

Stylized leaves.

So in the course of my years of picture making I have created several pictures of weddings. There is not a bride on earth who does not look wonderful on that occasion. Here I captured an imaginary bride living on an island in the Pacific somewhere. Orchids grow in abundance, the air is warm, so only the thinnest of veils will do to dress. Shells are used to decorate. She is very sober and grown up on this day, aware of her allure. Happy.

The Island Wedding picture is one of those where I used a heavy gold glaze. It is almost impossible to get a photo that shows the real effect. So In showing I eliminated the border with its golden glow.

Closeup of Island Wedding.

— “Island Wedding” — Canvas 30 inches x 40 inches —

Sometimes a color takes a place of an explanation for a mood or emotion. When I painted this I felt purple love. I often painted little snippets of life like that, those canvases were my jewels.

Emotion of purple love.

— “Purple Love” — Canvas 11 inches x 14 inches —

The Sanguinea or Blood Datura is very close to who I am in spirit. Proud and standing tall, fully aware of who I am, what I have achieved. I chose the Datura Sanguinea as Leitmotiv because of the statuesque nature of the tall blossoms, their very difference to what surrounds them. The sky is not the limit for this lady in the picture, to the contrary: she tore out a piece of it and used it as a sash around herself.

Sanguinea, the blood datura.

— “Sanguinea” — Canvas 48 inches x 72 inches —

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