You are Beautiful

we need more body positive messages. we need to feel better about ourselves, not worse. every day we are inundated with images of airbrushed perfection, of promises made that the billboards and magazines just can’t keep. where are the real bodies? do we even know what they look like anymore? do we know, beyond our…

Houri - 36x48 Oils on Canvas

when you assume…

One of the things I love about my job is the assumption that is made about me as a woman who paints nudes. I’m easy, I’m a slut, I’m desperate for a new male model (despite my largely female portfolio) That I need pictures of men I don’t know sending me photos of themselves and…

Putin gone Wild: Russian censorship forcing artists to flee.

Putin’s delightful regime of censorship and despotism is no longer content with targeting our brothers and sisters in the GLBTI community and is now striking out at artists. especially artists that are expressing their displeasure at Putin’s tyranny. one artist depicted Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in lingerie. the artworks were seized by police,…

Stephanie Key’s nude photos have her father’s support

I really approve of New Zealand Prime Minister John Key’s reaction to his Daughter’s photoshoot. He sent her to one of the best art schools in the world, the Paris College of Art, and is then thrilled to see that she is using her tuition to create the art she wants to create. His comments were not those of a politician, carefully primed and written, heading off a crisis or a threat to his career as some sources have implied, his words are those of a proud dad. not an embarrassed dad, but an encouraging and supportive one.

Houri - 36x48 Oils on Canvas

Does Testosterone affect our success?

In other studies, testosterone seemed to provide “winning streaks” that often occurred about ten in the morning. Funnily, I’ve always noted this is a hot hour for my painting, but I never thought to connect it with hormones. Of further interest, male brokers took more risks and traded more often than their female associates. It…

on being an artist and a mother

Many times I’ve seen it written in online arenas. the introduction. “Hi, I’m a mother and an artist”- you can almost hear the pause that follows after “mother.” the pause that says that a mother is who they are first and foremost. and in that introduction, whether intended or not, the “artist” part ends up…

Does Feminism have a place in the arts?

I read something recently that has made me start thinking again about the disparity of women in museums and galleries. This is a very real issue when over 50% of artists are female but less than 2% of the works in museums are by women. I was reading tips for artists and came across a…

Haurvatat 3D Daz Render

Women and Equality in the arts

There is an ugliness seeping through the high end of the art world. Something we all know about but have yet to change. Something that needs to be fixed. Disparity. What does it mean when only 2% of artists represented in top galleries and museums are female? Why are women such a minority in the…