Felid

Felid

This painting narrates the personal story of Hannah. Hannah was raised by her mother and by a man who was thought to be her father till the age of 12. Overtime, this man became abusive and manipulative to her mother and her siblings. In defense against his behavior, Hannah became extremely protective despite being the youngest sibling and smallest in the family. As a direct result of this experience, she learned how to stand up for herself and others and be fearless when faced with unjust situations. She feels very connected to the spirit of the ram because of this, hence the ram horns, warrior tattoo stripes and strong observatory pose depicted in the painting.

Hannah had an intuition and was convinced that this man was indeed not her father. Hannah has always had a great relationship with her mother and at the time, felt comfortable enough to approach her mother and inquire about her suspicions. It was then when her mother told her about her real father. Hannah's mother had become pregnant with her after being raped, and did not want to reveal the origin of her conception until Hannah was old enough to process the information. The man that was assumed to be her father stepped in when she was born and agreed to pose as her father, so Hannah's mother felt obligated to tolerate him. Fortunately, Hannah's mother divorced her stepfather soon after Hannah was informed of the truth. Hannah and her mother since then, have become a support system for each other and are extremely close to this day. The "Merkaba" symbol in the background is said to align the mind, body and heart. It is a symbol that is said to expand awareness and connects us with our elevated consciousness. Hannah has used her experiences as a catalyst to grow and feels that these experiences have only opened her heart created a stronger bond between her and her mother.

I use the technique of chiaroscuro (high contrast from light to dark) to reference how a woman’s depth can only be rendered with her darkest of shadows present as well as her light. I want to step away from the assumption that the female nude has to be reduced to dehumanized sex symbol or an allegorical figure of purity to be well received. The personal stories of female subjects are scarcely told and often censored. I intend to show that beauty is incomplete without the humanizing experiences that a woman obtains throughout her life. I utilize wood as the foreground to illustrate the raw nature of the content.

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Details

Oil Painting on Wood.
24"x36"

Info

  • Created : 2015
  • SOLD
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