WHEN WISE WOMEN WHISPER

Shortly after I became comfortable calling myself an artist, it occurred to me it was time to let go of my long-held belief that “I can’t draw faces”. If I was an artist, I had better at least make an effort to overcome that notion.

Drawing and painting hundreds of faces eventually chipped away and broke down that belief. At the same time, I unexpectedly discovered a love of poetry writing.

Somehow – in the mystical way creativity has of leading us to places we didn’t know we could go – the poems and women’s faces coalesced into a body of work called When Wise Women Whisper. Each woman has an accompanying poem, reminding us of our strength, courage and authenticity while whispering ‘you matter’.

The pieces in this series are mixed media (principally acrylic, collage and watercolour) on watercolour paper.

The process of their creation was to begin with a loose background - colours and forms that hint at the environment she occupies – on top of which the face was sketched and painted. Each face evolves from the sketch much like this:

I love her expression, the shape of her nose and the slight purse of her lips. And I’m scared as I continue, something adored could be lost. In fact, I KNOW it will. These women change as they come into being their full selves. 

Just like you and me... it can be painful to let go of parts we have loved in order to become more of what we are destined to be.