Another in progress piece

This is what I have been working on lately. Not sure where to take it next, so I figured I would post what I have. I am very happy with how her face turned out.

Getting back into the swing of things...

Between trips to El Paso, Brenham, and Austin over the last two weeks, I have not been able to spend much time creating. However, I was able to visit two different art museums, which inspired new ideas and maybe new directions. I find that after a long break it is hard for me to jump right back into a piece that I had been working on, so this piece helped me bridge the gap. Enjoy!

Bound in Chains

I have been bouncing between two projects lately. The first being an oil painting that I am not ready to put up pictures of, and the second being a collage (the largest that I have created so far) which I have uploaded the in progress image. It is my version relaying the essence of the character Jacob Marley from Charles Dickens' novel, A Christmas Carol.

The story:
My character is bound and weighed down with the chains that she has subconsciously built herself. The burdens she wears range in all sizes and shapes, showing the different events that she holds herself accountable for. She wears a corset, further emphasizing the constraints she places upon herself, over a black dress, tattered and worn. She mindlessly tugs at the ropes of pearls that wrap around her neck, and peers down lost in thoughts of the past. Her hair is bound tightly, covered by a decorative flower, another worldly possession masking her inner beauty. Lost amongst the other necklaces, is one small chain holding a key. A key that will unlock her burdens, loosen her chains, and set her free.

Finished!- False Persona

After being around our high school kids in and out of the classroom setting, I realized many juggle different personas around different people. Each person has their own walls they build to protect or hide behind. I started to think about how well you really know anybody, and this theme continues through my current pieces. What truly lays beneath the layers one wears? What false persona masks the person underneath?

This figure is part of that series. She hides behind her layered 'mask', drawing attention away from what lays beneath .

By the way, the color is way more accurate this time!

Mother Earth and Father Time

Once again, another older piece that I am just getting around to putting up on the site. This one actually has a clever title, however I don't remember where I wrote it down at. I will look for that at a later date.

I rarely edge toward a political statement with my work, but lean more toward personal or emotional works. I took inspiration from Surrealist landscapes and themes. It shows Mother Earth turning her back on today's society. She holds the fetus out from her body, showing her detachment from what would normally be carried naturally and lovingly in her womb. Father Time consoles her, though death is immanent. She looks off to a sunset of a desolate world of all that's been ruined, barren of all that she used to conceive and nurture. The key to life remains, entwined with the sands of time and tree of life.

The Key to Life

My first small swirl study, 'The Key to Life', started me down the path that I currently walk. It is good to look at where you started to better put into perspective where you are headed. It shows my beginning fasination with hidden meanings, and the deeper history of symbols.

Birthday Butterflies

When I first moved down to Freeport after college, I started a series on very small birthday butterflies/moths that I never did anything with. Since it is currently my birthday month, it is appropriate to revisit the amethyst butterfly that I jazzed up a little with some swirls. I am also adding a miscellaneous piece that belongs to the butterfly set, however never felt like it belonged.