Print of original painting: Printed on high quality fine art paper.

Dimensions of print: 16” x 13”

Dimensions of image: 14” x 11”

All prints are signed by the artist unless requested otherwise.

Original painting: Blackberry ink, moss, sea water on cotton.

Dimensions of original painting: 63”x49”

Created on the west coast of Ireland in 2015.

This painting now lives in a private collection in California.

This painting is aptly titled “Into the Light”. It is part of a series of seven self-portraits that I created on the west coast of Ireland during my time at the Burren College of Art. I completed a post-baccalaureate there in 2015-2016. Before I arrived, I had been creating large portraits on banners for a festival with the theme of peace. I knew that when I arrived in Ireland I wanted to continue this pursuit, only I wanted to experiment with plant dyes. To my delight, I found that blackberries, which covered the entire west coast can also be used as a dye for fabric. I wanted to paint someone with whom I had a deeply personal relationship. Because I was among new friends, I decided to paint myself. I spent the remainder of my time in school painting this self-portrait series using blackberry ink that I collected from the surrounding landscape. This became a profound study into myself and when I finished, I found that the series as a whole reflected back to me my own inner landscape. This painting in particular spoke to me as I saw myself surrounded by shadow but stepping into the light of my own being. May you have the courage today too to step from your own shadow into the light of your own being.