Nyssa

I’ve been working on a series of paintings called “Woman in…”

The purpose of this project is to imagine and paint women in a bunch of different emotional situations. So far, I’ve painted 5 (but only photographed 3) and I have 3 more works in progress that are ready to show and another 3 works in progress that I’m still playing with.

I’ve really enjoyed this process because it makes me think a lot about the usually hidden, emotional life that exists in us all. I’ve really gotten to think about the characteristics and symbolism of different emotions.

Every painting contains thoughts that are both practical and philosophical. Much like Barbara Walters asking, “What kind of tree would you be?”, I ask practical questions things like, “What is the color of despair?” or “What emotion does thin stripes evoke versus thick stripes?

Then there are the philosophical questions; “What would a woman in trouble look like… What would her interior space show? How do you paint the feelings of being under attack?”

Combining these two worlds of practical painting issues with philosophical questions, I’ve come up with images that I think people can relate to. So, I’m going to bring all the ladies in my series out to show on one page, including the works in progress. This way you can see the emerging picture of some of the different worlds and images I’ve been exploring.

I don’t know how many women are going to end up in this series. I’m just going to paint until I run out of interesting emotions and symbols that appeal to me.

Here they are:

First are the completed works; Woman in Flames, Woman in Fear, and Woman Intense:

Here are my works in progress; Woman inside, Woman in Trouble, and Woman Inhaled:

Here are more works in progress; Woman In Darkness, and Woman in Sacrifice: