Holiding the baby

Today’s the second day of diving into this painting. I’ve been physically turning it around a lot, and that’s kind of letting it evolve. I started using a more yellowish, antique sort of card to bring out the whites, but it’s also changed the feel in ways I didn’t expect. Now it’s got its own conversation going on.

At this point, it’s looking like a mother holding a baby, maybe someone who’s left their home, there’s a barefoot detail, and the kid’s holding a toy. There’s a lot of confusion and atmosphere around them, and these big gashes of color that might be playful or might not. And the bottom corner’s got these bluey-grey tones to give it kind of a rubble feeling.

And yeah, on top of all that, I’m aware that there’s a lot of heavy stuff in the current social media feed—things about Palestine, families suffering, and that might be creeping into the work too, because that’s just the reality of what’s out there right now. So for now, I’m leaving the painting as it is, and we’ll see where it goes in a couple of days.

814mm x 1015mm