Nana Paintings

   I show a variety of work, but one main focus of my art is my granddaughter, Arianna. She calls herself Nana and has become my muse and my obsession.  I had never painted portraits before she was born even though I had been painting for 27 years.  It took me until she was 2 to get up the courage to try to paint her.  I can't stop painting and photographing her now, but then she is my only granddaughter!   She called herself Nana when she first learned to talk: she is now 21!   She loved to "model" for me from the time she was 2, so I have hundreds and hundreds of photos of her.  Some of the photos have become paintings and some double exposures, or layered photos, the Numinous Nanas.  The Numinous Nana photos are a reflection of her as my canvas and my other works, paintings or photos, overlayed upon that canvas.  And then sometimes, those layered photos themselves have become paintings. 

I love how the creativity keeps going full circle, feeding itself!
Yes the grandboys get painted too, don't worry, but there is just something about her in particular that enthralls me.  I know it is partially due to the fact that she is biracial, and therefore in my mind, exotically and uniquely beautiful!