oil on wood panel, 48" x 48",  2020

According to Norman Bryson, still life painting is “at a level of existence where events are not at all large-scale, momentous events of History, but the small-scale, forgettable acts of bodily survival and self-maintenance”.

It is with this thought in mind that I painted flowers, in part as a form of self-maintenance; and as the 2019 impeachment trials lead to a global pandemic (2020) and racial justice protests (2021), the paintings grew to respond to the events of history unfolding, through the overlooked and humble still life.

The two large oil on wood panel flower paintings include tributes to individuals whose lives had become public through their own acts or the acts of others perpetrated against them. Wanting to address the power of the individual and the collective, the flower arrangements; large, diverse, symbolic and larger than life, are still life paintings that paint a portrait of “momentous events of history” while honoring the individual whose private life became public.

The paintings harken back to baroque still life painting, employing symbolism and color devices that create austere arrangements imbued with cultural signifiers and timely juxtapositions between individual and group, personal and public, joyous and sad.

Detail

Oil on wood panel 48" x 48" 2020 According to Norman Bryson, still life painting is “at a level of existence where events are not at all large-scale, momentous events of History, but the small-scale, forgettable acts of bodily survival and self-maintenance”. It is with this thought in mind that I painted flowers, in part as a form of self-maintenance; and as impeachment trials lead to a global pandemic and racial justice protests, the paintings grew to respond to the events of history unfolding, through the overlooked and humble still life. The two large oil on wood panel flower paintings include tributes to individuals whose lives had become public through their own acts or the acts of others perpetrated against them. Wanting to address the power of the individual and the collective, the flower arrangements; large, diverse, symbolic and larger than life, are still life paintings that paint a portrait of “momentous events of history” while honoring the individual whose private life became public. The paintings harken back to baroque still life painting, employing symbolism and color devices that create austere arrangements imbued with cultural signifiers and timely juxtapositions between individual and group, personal and public, joyous and sad.

Detail Vanitas - BLM

Detail Vanitas - Black Lives Matter

oil on paper 30"h x 22"w 2020

Fresh Flowers, oil on paper, 30" h x 22" w each 2019 - 2021 My oil on paper flower paintings are compositions based on familiar and shared cultural artifacts. While painting these I realized that I tapped into a collective desire for some form of comfort in troubled times, at the same time, also challenging the historic bias against flower paintings/still life as a less serious art form. I frequented Trader Joe’s and other grocery stores to purchase flowers and the vases I purchased at Ikea, West Elm and second hand stores. These artifacts are steeped in cultural ideas of beauty, class and domestic space through their commercial accessibility and price point; some are mass produced and inexpensive while others are unique and or “designer”.

Fresh Flowers, oil on paper 2019 - 2020

Studio View of work in Progress 2020

oil on paper 30" h x 22"w 2020

oil on paper 30" h x 22"w 2020

Fresh Flower #6 oil on paper, 30" x 22", 2019

Fresh Flowers #4, oil on paper, 30"h x 22"w 2019

1 in 5 installation view, Central Michigan University, 2016

Flower Dress, 60"h x 40"w with hand stenciled wall. Acrylic and watercolor on paper.

Rose Dress, acrylic paint, watercolor and collage on paper 40” x 26”, 2015

1 in 5, installation at Central Michigan University. Three watercolor, acrylic, collage paintings on paper mounted on a hand stenciled wallpaper reading 1 in 5, the sexual assault statistics on college campuses. Installation dimensions: 18’w, 10’ h, 2016 Paintings left to right: Red Dress acrylic paint and watercolor on paper 40” x 26”, 2016 Flower Dress acrylic paint and watercolor on paper 60” x 40”, 2016 Rose Dress acrylic paint, watercolor and collage on paper 40” x 26”, 2015

Studio View with Custom printed fabric dress and paintings.

Tell your Son to Behave, 12" x 9" watercolor on paper

Yellow Dress, 12" x 9" watercolor on paper

Flower Dress, watercolor on paper, 12" x 9"

Flora and Fauna, diptych. 16” h x 24” w. watercolor on paper. 2016

Animal, watercolor and acrylic on paper, 12"h x 24"w diptych

Nasty Woman, 29" h x 19"w, silkscreen, acrylic and watercolor on paper

My 'Women in Black' series, initiated around the 2016 election, is inspired by Polish women's powerful protest against anti-choice legislation. By framing everyday clothing items in black silkscreened frames, I aim to visually represent the impact of laws restricting women's bodily autonomy. These ordinary garments, sourced from thrift stores, my closet, and online, symbolize the universal experience of women affected by such policies.

The Nasty Woman t-shirt is in reference to Trumps comment to Hillary Clinton during he debates of 2016.

Women in Black, series of mixed media paintings, silkscreen, acrylic and watercolor on paper, 2018

My 'Women in Black' series, initiated around the 2016 election, is inspired by Polish women's powerful protest against anti-choice legislation. By framing everyday clothing items in black silkscreened frames, I aim to visually represent the impact of laws restricting women's bodily autonomy. These ordinary garments, sourced from thrift stores, my closet, and online, symbolize the universal experience of women affected by such policies.

29" h x 19"w, silkscreen, acrylic and watercolor on paper

My 'Women in Black' series, initiated around the 2016 election, is inspired by Polish women's powerful protest against anti-choice legislation. By framing everyday clothing items in black silkscreened frames, I aim to visually represent the impact of laws restricting women's bodily autonomy. These ordinary garments, sourced from thrift stores, my closet, and online, symbolize the universal experience of women affected by such policies.

Women in Black - 29" h x 19"w, silkscreen, acrylic and watercolor on paper

My 'Women in Black' series, initiated around the 2016 election, is inspired by Polish women's powerful protest against anti-choice legislation. By framing everyday clothing items in black silkscreened frames, I aim to visually represent the impact of laws restricting women's bodily autonomy. These ordinary garments, sourced from thrift stores, my closet, and online, symbolize the universal experience of women affected by such policies.