Today I wanted to share my painting Bald Eagle which I made to be representative of women taking stronger and more prominent roles in politics -- Notice the feather quills on her blouse -- She's rewriting history! I'm with Kamala Harris and wish her and Joe Biden every success. 

Ourself Behind Ourself, Concealed, from my I Believe in Ghosts series, is exhibiting for the first time in a group exhibition at Verum Ultimum Gallery in Portland, Oregon. From the organizer: "Chasing Ghosts V is a collection of art that pierces the veil through remembrance, legacy, and beyond."

Experience the works in person or online here. 

Chasing Ghosts V from October 25 - November 28, 2020
Verum Ultimum Art Gallery
3014 NE Ainsworth Ave,
Portland, OR 97211  
347-752-8915 

Me and I and her and she all come together for a visual update on the evolution of I Believe in Ghosts.
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Left to right:
We Hunt the Doe, oil on linen, 42 x 49 inches, work in progress
Ourself Behind Ourself, Concealed, oil on linen, 51 x 39 inches, July 2020
Minds Pass Minds Be They Occupied, ​50 x 68 inches, oil on linen, work in progress

This is the third painting in my series, I Believe in Ghosts, and one of the pieces I've been most keen to paint. I've been vigorously working to cover the canvas and see the  the image come to life at it's intended size. Work in progress, "We Hunt the Doe," oil on linen, 42 x 49 inches. 

Victory! I've completed the first pass over this BIG canvas, aka the fourth painting in my series, I Believe in Ghosts, which simply means every surface now has paint on it. Next I will begin making corrections and refining what's on the canvas. Then it's on to color! Work in progress, oil on linen, 50 x 68 inches.

Mary Magdalene as Melancholy (pictured above and below on left) is the personification of melancholia and believed to be a self portrait of the artist, Artemisia Gentileschi. This work is a copy Gentileschi made of her previous painting, Penitent Magdalene, (pictured below on right) which resides at the Seville Cathedral in Spain. 

Interestingly, x-rays revealed alterations in Penitent Magdalene in both the face and the widening of the cloth covering the subject's shoulder, probably because the original appearance was considered too risqué for the church. Looking at these two works side by side, it's easy to see the concealment of the bosom and the lack of vibrancy in the later work -- but what I find most striking are the differing gazes.

The Penitent Magdalene castes a pensive downward gaze, suggestive of guilt and shame, and an unawareness that she is being looked upon, whereas Mary Magdalene as Melancholy holds a melancholic, yet direct gaze (detail of gaze pictured below) making us the viewers very much aware that she knows we are looking upon her.

Gentileschi is a tremendous Italian Baroque painter, whose incredible work has been largely unsung owing to sexism in the art world. The injustice doesn't begin there. As a teenager she was raped by her painting mentor. He went unpunished, while she was tortured with thumbscrews during the trial to see if she was being truthful. And her "reputation" was "ruined".

When viewing Gentileschi's work we are fortunate to have a window into a 17th century female perspective - Amazing! In Mary Magdalene as Melancholy, one can't help seeing the hurt and anger and fire behind her gaze.  These subtle changes between the two works speak volumes about the oppression of women and importance of women telling their own stories. 

Having said all this, I really want to express the joy I felt running into Artemisia Gentilesch, at the Soumaya Museum in Mexico City! Gentileschi's work seems to be gaining more recognition as of the 2010's. She's a bad-ass feminist, and an artist well worth knowing, if you don't already.  ​