REALISM OIL PAINTINGS
"Art is a reflection of life. I paint the people, places, and things that inspire me to look closer, to savor the beauty of existence and connection." ~Brooke Walker-Knoblich
NEWSLETTER
"Celestial Self Portraits" examine complexities of personality. The 30" circular shape subtly represents a planet in its position at the moment of my birth. Exploring self identity through this astrological lens opened my mind to a wealth of new knowledge that struck resonant, intuitive chords. Imagery became both representational and symbolic, every gesture and color serving a distinct purpose.
The radiant blues of “Moon in Aquarius'' reflect the depths of fixed air and logic, while golden points infuse philosophical ideas. The reds and greens of “Mercury in Gemini” balance to neutral on the color wheel, representing the split-twin mediator, weighing both sides. “Scorpio Rising '' is drenched in a passionate, intense red that is matched by a searing gaze on the desert horizon and upheld hand creating a window/mask of perception, symbolic of ascendant signs. The mirror profiles of “Sun in Gemini” confront internal dualities with both compassion and discernment, and a fiery phoenix represents a sun in the 8th house of death and transformation. “Venus in Taurus” captures a sensualist’s comforts bathed in warmth, emanating from a large cup of tea. But the eerie, liminal colors of “Pluto in Libra” harken to a darker power, generated from Greek mythology and potent midnights, to represent a generational need to heal relationships through connectivity. Creating the “Celestial Self Portraits” body of work called for new levels of openness—to pursuing esoteric threads, to researching and listening for gnostic resonance, to encountering and confirming personal truths—throughout the creative process. Along the way, I discovered a thrilling new approach to portraiture and learned to channel my ideas into a strong visual language.
CELESTIAL SELF PORTRAITS
~ARTIST STATEMENT~