Oil Paintings

My work is generally about the strange space women are forced to occupy in this world of strict gender roles and expectations- Am I Yet? and Something Nice For Once in particular deal with what we do to ourselves to cope in a society unfriendly to those who break the mold. Nude rabbit-woman-things force uncanny smiles through their mutilation. They perform contentment for the comfort of others, because that’s just what’s expected of women- to do otherwise would be to break deep set programming. There is a certain bitterness behind my work; it’s difficult to be a woman, with all the expectations and restrictions that entails, and not become at least a little bitter. Every painting starts with anger and develops into commentary. All art is political, and in these times of rising misogyny and expectations for women to shrink back into ‘traditional’ roles and values, I want to depict us as we are- disgusting, beautiful animals that consume and take up space and LIVE. Much of my work depicts freedom and self-determination- however, it’s also important to address the darker side of things; impossible beauty standards, behavioral expectations, and the constant threat of sexual harassment/violence can and will grind a person to dust.