Emmalee Powell
Torn and Flaky
13x13 panel
Oil and mixed media
2019
22k gold leaf frame
What is so carefully hidden,
is coming through for all to see
This is honesty.
This is Me.
Context:
In case you thought I was perfect because I paint Jesus.... I’m not the best person or parent. I have a limited tolerance for small children. It’s hard to feel so powerless. The sounds of crying grates on my nerves when my nerves are already fried. Although these are paintings of Jesus they are paintings of me expressing my feelings when I’m trying to cope while feeling tattered and torn. I’m trying to be perfect but imperfection keeps coming through.
The process:
This painting was painted over a realistic portrait like this.
It began with the idea of being Limited with only old artwork and painting studies, but I wanted the old work to show through, so I purposely ”broke the rules” of art by layering oil, acrylic, then oil again. You are never supposed to mix oil based and water based paints. So I did knowing it would flake but not exactly how. The new paintings flaked as they were being created. I stopped the flaking process through thick layers of oil-based sealant. Can you find the portrait underneath?
Here are some other torn and flaky paintings.
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