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| Original cabinet card and my interpretation. |
My paintings based on Victorian images channel my yearning to preserve the fragility of memory through the loving act of creation.
Victory over death has preoccupied the human mind from time immemorial. Daguerreotypes and later collotypes replaced the painted image as the most effective means of capturing the living image of an age and the proliferation of images with carte-de-visite and cabinet cards were popular as late as the 20's. While these pieces of personal narrative were once treasured they were also forfeit to a cruel mistress - time. In this collection of paintings I have once again turned a loving eye towards these once discarded images and presented them for a second viewing. Steeped in Victorian era sentimentality and overburdened with sugary romanticism these alabaster skinned ancestors exist within a world in the clutches of metamorphosis. Clues from the photos have influenced my thoughts on the stories of their lives and led me to represent my interpretation through symbolism as the renaissance artists once did. As no information exists to identify these people to connect them to their destinies, I have made a world of possibilities where they can exist for eternity, beautiful and adored.
