What’s Her Story: Resurgence

increasing or reviving after a period of little activity, popularity, or occurrence.

Due to the pandemic I decided to stay home and quarantine as much as I can since March. All events were canceled and I decided to turn a spare bedroom into my studio instead of leasing a commercial space. My daughter stays home and goes to school remotely. Life has been pretty secluded. I miss people! I miss all of the art shows I used to attend, I miss connecting with people and sharing our stories. I used to travel all the time and was constantly on the go but now staying home has caused me to slow down and reflect on what I want out of life. Essentially I’ve been laying low and rethinking everything. This is what inspired me to create this piece: Resurgence.

 

 

I started with the outline. A simple, quick sketch using a paint marker. I don’t include every detail because I like to add all the details when I’m actually painting. I try not to spend too much time in the sketching phase because the main objective is just making sure the proportions are correct.

Next I start painting, usually beginning around the eyes. The eyes always tell the story. 

I never have a destination in mind when painting, I just go with the flow. I allow the image to take shape in the way that it wants to. I’ve spent too much time trying to force a painting to look a certain way, and I’ve learned that everything will come together in the way that it should.

The story about the piece forms as I’m painting it. All of my thoughts and emotions come out when I’m creating. I am ready to dive back in to creating more artwork that tells the stories of my community and culture. When the world opens back up I am ready to showcase my artwork again in a way to engage and inform. Resurgence means to “rise again” and it is my word and vision for 2021. This piece represents a woman rising out of the dust and transforming, and that is definitely what I plan to do. Happy New Year to You and thanks for reading!