Femme en Rouge

Behind the painting

The story of Femme en Rouge.

I painted Femme en Rouge in 2018, when I was feeling rejected by a man I thought I would begin a relationship with. I wanted to be wanted, but he never really showed me that he wanted me in a relationship way.

I did not want to feel like I was just one long, stretched-out one-night stand. I wanted to feel wanted as a partner, and I was beginning to recognize that he did not want me as much as I wanted that relationship.

Her crossed ankles and lifted posture hold vulnerability and poise. She carries the tension of still longing for something while beginning to recognize my own worth.

The red was bold, and I was trying to manifest the things I wanted in my life. Against the soft grayscale figure, those red soles became an expression of the confidence I was beginning to reach for.

I used acrylic and enamel on her heels to create a glossy finish. She was an early exploration of selective color against a luminous grayscale figure, part of the technique I would continue to refine into Lumière Inversée.

Femme en Rouge took about forty hours to paint. I painted her as I was deciding to walk away from what did not want me as much as I wanted that relationship. That is the moment she holds: I still wanted him, and I was beginning to choose to walk away.

Acrylic and enamel on canvas · 16 × 20 inches · 2018