Process of a Painting
I thought it would be interesting to share my painting process with my audience; how I navigate thoughts, intuition, impulses and the knowledge and principles of a painting practice. I like to work in a series, so spending a little time on each piece helps to diffuse anxiety when I reach a point of not knowing. It makes sense and something I have learned from many artists who use this practice. It helps to stay fresh with each visit of the painting process and for the image to emerge. However, I also listen to my intuition and work can change drastically - that’s where I then have to listen to the painting….there is a beautiful balance that can happen. I also want the painting to look effortless, though it’s in the process of making, erasing, adding, repeat, repeat again that the magic happens. I love it!
Acrylic on canvas 60x24 inches 2022
Acrylic on canvas 60x24 inches 2022
Acrylic on canvas 60x24 inches 2022
THE LOST AND FORGOTTEN WOMEN SERIES
Reading Coolie Woman: The Odyssey of Indenture by Gaiutra Bahadur led me deeper into researching my ancestry.
My family's ancestry has influenced me greatly and I’ve been working with this idea of the forgotten women - the women whose shoulders we stand on. We all come from a journey, our ancestors travelling looking for possibilities, sometimes by choice, others by force. The water holds so many secrets and I am drawn to delve deeper into this aspect of the borders we cross to find home, safety and belonging.
Valiama, my great great grandmother travelled across the waters from Guadalupe to Trinidad in 1885 with her young daughter, away from a broken marriage to build a new home. She was the matriarch of my mothers family and her story is documented extensively.
This is an emerging series and these are works in process.