Trinidad
original painting
20 x 20 inches

Santeras means "Saint maker" or one who paints saints, as in the Russian tradition of self-taught artists painting naive religious icons after devout prayer. There is a difference between making an icon, and having it become the object of worship, and making a representation that expresses a truth about God. We cannot depict the Father, the Holy Spirit, or the Trinity. Herein lies the contradiction of faith, both invisible and boundless, yet evidenced through our very real humanity. I set out to describe my faith through a Child's eye. In creating this series I became a santera: a saint maker interpreting the holy moments of each day. Inspired by the joy of my infant daughter Sophie, I relied on the spirit to move through me to create raw childlike images infused with feeling. Many figures float in a timeless space in which their bodies are painted as shimmering vessels for their hearts. If we reveal our spiritual nature when we release our fear of difference and our sense of separateness from one another, then it is inevitable that in the figures grew increasing similar and androgynous in each new work. I'm particularly fascinated by images of triplets - as a metaphor for aspects of us - the trinity depicted as three male figures dancing or floating together as one body. Or as three women, often with one or more painted over but still faintly visible. These are everyday saints, personal icons depicting mysteries of joy.