NEW CANVAS: Cleanse

The very first painting I'm sharing here with you is the start of a brand new project! Finished yesterday, it took three days to complete (acrylics on canvas, 20 x 20) with some tricky areas detailing the water refraction, motion and reflection.

Cleanse

Cleanse is one of many self-portraits, (my camera was wedged between the bath taps!) and will become part of quite a dark, but hopefully enlightening project I'm working on.

This is the original photo I was working from and then my Instagram version:

I was feeling pretty hopeless at the time of taking the photograph. I just wanted to lay down in the water and go to sleep forever. There was no anger or frustration, only hopelessness and a complete emptiness, devoid of all energy and any willingness to care for anything or anyone. The pastel colours are intended to add to the peacefulness of the scene, that despite the unreceptive nature of the girl, she's warm in the bath, weightless from the water and happy to drift in and out of consciousness, perhaps for hours to prevent any deeper thought.

I will also add that I LOVE being in the bath; I feel like I can almost wash away all my troubles - cleanse my mind. Almost.

For those interested in the creation of this work, below are the main stages of completion. Despite using the same colour palette each time, I had to wash and rinse my paint bowl four times! On the plus side though, I love how you can peel acrylic paint off ceramic under hot running water like stretchy plastic - it's almost as satisfying as picking dried PVA glue off your fingers LOL.

birdy x