I looked for reference photos of women with raised fists and expressions of anger, determination, some kind of intense engagement. Although the one I used was quite supermodelish, I think I managed to transform her into a more authentic image by the choices I made in my painting with style and colors.
I went through quite a number of changes on this one. The T-shirt in the photo was white, but I didn't want it drawing focus from the face and fist, so I dialed it back with color but then gave it some pattern (a stencil, in case you were wondering—no, I am incapable of painting stars that perfectly or evenly!) just for added detail. I put in the lettering at the top but then the big empty space below it felt awkward, so I also used the stripes from my flag stencil to fill it in and give more nuance. I had to repaint the jacket sleeve a couple of times because, in the reference photo, both the jacket and the background were red, a red so similar that it was hard to distinguish foreground from background; but with the help of my painter friend Corinne I figured it out.
Her eyes were a bit squintier than this, and her mouth not at quite this angle, but I'm letting it be, because if I fuss too much, I inevitably make it worse!
I pondered for a while whether the message should be "save our" or "take back our," but concluded that at this point, a lot has slipped away, and I also liked the thought that we could revert to the pure form originally invoked by the Constitution rather than simply salvaging what we have had recently, which hasn't felt ideal even before the fascists took over. It's eye-opening to read comments from all over the world and realize that many viewed American politics as a totally corrupt shit-show long before that became apparent to us. We obviously haven't been paying enough attention for all the decades since the gates were opened to so many devious people with destructive ideas (for everyone but them). But we're paying attention now.
I'm calling this "Blue in the Face" because that's how I'm feeling right now—screaming until I am blue in the face, and who is listening? This is a pastel drawing followed by acrylic paints on a 12x16-inch thin birch board. (Note: My scanner cuts off almost 1/2 inch on either side. The borders aren't this tight.)
