The Painted Parts
An Invitation
Thinking about the ways our mind settles on the body, our own body, we all sit with those tightly wrapped up ideas that we have (or have been given) through the course of our life. For many, the thought is how our bodies have disappointed us somehow, that they are too much, too little, too soft, too hard, too curved, too square, too stretched, too old, too saggy, too sick and too tired. Too something.
My name is Anne Pollard James. I am a figurative painter and I paint the spectacular strength of women. My current project idea examines many of the notions of the concept of ‘Braving the Body’. As womxn, we are always asked to cover up and camouflage bodies. Based on what we see on a screen, you would never know that skin has scars, pores and complex texture. That the body is as pragmatic as it is mysterious. The very things that make us strong and capable are the things that our cameras filter out…the muscles and the fascia that mold fat into cellulite and keep our legs strong to carry us on our way, our faces line and fall with gravity and then peak to glorious smiles that light up everything, our bellies rise and fall and are streaked with the pale-blue-peach hued marks that stretch to hold us.
For those who would like to participate with me on this project, my hope is to simply meet womxn where they are and capture small (but hugely important) moments of joy and delight to include in a series of painted images based on a photo that we work together to create. These paintings will become the red thread of this new body of work that I’m exploring.
Join me?
To be included in this complicated and beautiful conversation & to learn more, click the following link to send me your contact information.
This is amazing! I would love to be a part of this.
-Katy