Ten feet long

This painting is currently rolled up, unfinished, in my storage unit. There’s oil paint on it now, and an old tree with a human face on the right. I’ve had dubious visions of cutting it in half, no good, terrible thoughts of chopping it to square bits, repainting every inch, throwing it away entirely (though I couldn’t bring myself to waste the material)!

This is the first painting I began of my current collection, then focused solely on grief. A compilation of visuals from my more intensive meditations. As a completely mobile artist, working this large is not so simple. The canvas is 10 feet by 5 feet. I carried her to several different studio’s over the course of two months. I never finished.

The painting’s fate as an unfinished baddie was two fold. First, the topic of grief. Anyone coming across me working found a safe space to discuss their own. Quickly, after this initial drawing, the painting became about the conversations it inspired more than the imagery. To such a degree that the concept of the whole collection evolved during its making.

I honestly don’t know what will become of the final piece. I am certain I will cut the canvas at some point, to some degree. I am also certain the imagery will change. For now, other paintings in the collection bide my time, and grief is a tool to navigate the whole thing.