2021

Kelly is my partner of 11 years and has sat for many paintings, but this was the first where their top surgery scars were visible in the painting. I wanted to capture the fluidity and unique beauty of both their features and their ambiguous gender presentation. The colors I used, blues and pinks, are a nod colors of the trans flag. Kellys expression is confrontational, facing the viewer directly. But if the viewer knows that it was their romantic partner who they were staring at, it becomes a much more intimate gaze.