Extend Yourself

I am honored to have this painting featured in the CIVA Sourcebook for 2013-2014. The Sourcebook is a wonderful publication featuring works by members of Christians in the Visual Arts (CIVA) as well as a directory for contacting artists, collectors, curators, gallery owners and other art aficionados.

I chose this piece for two reasons, one serious and the other humorous. Extension is a painting depicting a dancer in an exaggerated backbend, executed in oil on a dark black red background. I have intentionally left the wood grain of the panel underneath with a shellac finish, made of beetle wings, which is water resistant and give the wood a warm glow. The dancer is bending between the darkness and the warm wood, with her torso and chest breaking into the wood, which is traditionally the frame.

I submitted this piece to the sourcebook as a metaphor for the melding of different people and backgrounds symbolized by the meeting of the oil paint and the wood finished medium, and humorously to show that reaching out, extending yourself to the other is always difficult and requires not only strength, but also grace, as shown in the dancer.

This painting has also appeared in multiple gallery shows including “Compassion” at Harvard University, among others.

You can learn more about the CIVA community, where I am currently serving as Membership Coordinator, at CIVA.org.