I Love *Him*
Materials: Canvas, acrylic paint, love, pain, confusion, celebration, an art studio under construction, a sprinkle of boredom, a night of live painting at Milford House (underpainting)
Dimensions: 24x36
Series: The Khalifa Years
Year: 2020
Price: $2,400
As of right now, mid-2021, I’d rather not talk about the inspiration for this painting but when one’s heart is wrapped up in their work and the work needs to be shown, there isn’t really a choice is there?
In 2020 I was renovating my studio, I was among construction mess and also living in the space. I had to keep the area free of anything unnecessary which kept my mind in constant evaluation of what’s important and what art materials do I want to keep. Canvases were thrown out, paints were donated, anything I could get rid of was let go of.
I was drawn to the deeply framed gallery-wrapped canvases during this time which I’d used more frequently at the beginning of my career. I hadn’t made any work for myself, only commissions since the beginning of the renovation, and I hadn’t live-streamed my creative process in something like 7 years. It felt right to revive some old practices and combine new and old. My old playlists of epic movie soundtracks blanketed the scene watched by my fans on Facebook and Instagram live. I was painting in a construction zone of a studio with wires hanging overhead, my old art storage rack empty behind my easel, and nothing in my head but wanting to let go and create like I hadn’t in so long.
During this time I was madly in love with my boyfriend, whose name is woven into this piece. I started this painting with ‘I love you” and his name written on the canvas and swirled the brush around to extend lines to the edges of the painting, and connect letters until there was nothing but swirls and angles and shapes to be seen. Then I outlined those lines and shapes until every inch of the canvas was covered.
Underneath this painting layer is another painting done around holiday time at a local restaurant, and under that layer is the original painting titled East Meets West, which was black and white faces blowing pink and red winds towards each other over a mountain. Given this man and I are from different parts of the world, this painting lying underneath the layers of new feels fitting for the theme.
Can you guess his name?