WANDERESS

"Wanderess" - oil on cradled wood panel, 16 x 16 x 1.5.  Ready to hang.  Available here and at Artfinder.

“What is a Wanderess? Bound by no boundaries, contained by no countries, tamed by no time, she is the force of nature’s course.”-  ROMAN PAYNE

The studio has become a space station.  A place to launch rockets and explore new worlds - an expansion of physical wandering into the imagination.  And so, of course, there are nudes in helmets, both exploring the cosmos and embracing vulnerability at the same time.

Because when we step outside of our comfort zone - when we step (or leap, or plunge) into what's calling us, we feel quite, well, naked.  At least, that's how I experience the things that have me on the edge of my eyeballs.

Wanderess

A recent step (leap, plunge) into a SF series by Martha Wells, The Murderbot Diaries, brought to light all the nakedness of emotion and being seen to experience emotion by others.  Murderbot (what the bot named itself), is decidedly an antisocial introvert riddled with anxiety.  Uncomfortable with eye contact, touch and experiencing emotion.  It self-soothes with binge-watching media.  But it is well able to navigate space travel and battle and pulse weapons.

“I hate caring about stuff. But apparently once you start, you can't just stop.” 
― Martha Wells, Rogue Protocol

​Murderbot's dry humor is in my head now.  And apparently influencing the art.

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About the art:  beginning with a black gesso'd cradled wood panel and roughly sketching a figure.  For this piece, I used as inspiration a pose from a classical painting from centuries ago,  Using a palette knife, a small rubber wedge and a paper towel, slowly adding layers of oil paint in a limited number of colors.  Resisting the urge to overly define.  Using a paper towel to soften some areas, and allowing the knife to leave sharp edges in others.  

​I am now determined to add a space helmet to my wardrobe. :)