My love of art history, running, my apparel company VANDER JACKET, and my neverending interest in portraiture is showcased in this diptych. Three Graces has the classic pose of the Greek Three Graces: arms intertwined, full bodied, connected, with a hint at sisterhood. The models in the paintings are friends and models, for the running apparel company VANDER JACKET. Since the Three Graces iconic pose showcases the running jackets’ front and backs, it was a no-brainer director cue. But the inspirational business photography gave way to painting: the colors, the diversity of attitude and expressions, the muted sky, the lush green grass.

The photos were a launching pad for a deep dive image study of human friendship and exclusion. The pose of the three women necessitates community; they are touching. And yet, the paintings hint at the fickleness of inclusion and exclusion. People are generally gifted at helping a new person feel apart or other. I wanted to take down in paint the feeling of fitting in, and the feeling of being the odd person out. Who among us has not experienced these feelings?

These paintings are acrylic on prepared, found, wood panels. 2024. 33 ½” x 27” each panel