In recent years, I’ve felt increasingly compelled to paint archetypal paintings of women as the strong, capable, multifaceted beings that we are. This new series grew from that impulse — and from the same deep current that shaped my Prayer Paintings in 2018, when I also painted as a way to conjure divine assistance to thwart would-be oppressors and authoritarians.

 

The first guardian to arrive was Esmerelda. I painted her with qualities I hoped to summon in myself: strength, courage, grounded presence, calm confidence. Someone who stands tall and faces what’s coming with depth, integrity, skillfulness. She felt like a presence — not just a painting — and I wanted more of her in the studio. 

 

Next came Rose, then Stella. I felt enlivened by the portraits. And steadier, less alone. I thought: I’ll paint seven, like Seven Samurai or The Magnificent Seven. This will be my team — we’ll face these days together.

 

But they kept coming. I didn't know who would appear next — I’d begin a painting, and someone would arrive. I welcomed them. In the end, I created (or channeled?) seventeen of these guardians.

 

In this series, my expressive impasto brushwork shows up in the bright colors of the faces and the vivid backgrounds — but much of the gestural energy comes through a different medium: painterly drawing with oil paint stick. I’ve loved exploring how bold, confident linework plays against washes of underpainting, creating dynamic contrast and movement. I found myself especially drawn to the shadows cast by a hat across a face — a motif I returned to again and again. 

 

I also painted some boots and cattle because it felt good. Enjoy!