Solitary Women
SOLITARY WOMEN marked my first solo exhibition and my predilection for working in thematically-based series.
At the time my studio was located in my house, and I felt a sense of isolation relative to my artwork and surroundings. It brought to mind the analogy of “if the tree falls in the forest and no one hears…..” This fueled a desire to portray these feelings using a (nude ) model from a life-drawing class, and pose her in various “non-working” situations within a home – lounging, watching at the window, washing her hair, sewing, napping, etc. These simple activities were presented using a very restrained pastel palette in order to create a quiet, often dream-like, but expectant mood.
In later work in the series, the body was liberated from the “home”, became more active, sometimes in multiples, or segmented, and moving within the picture plane.
