Wonder Women in an Elevator
40 x 60 inches
oil on canvas
The concept for this painting changed quite a bit from beginning to end. The original idea was to have a real superhero in an elevator with a “wannabe” superhero in a homemade costume. I think I’d sort of gotten the idea from one of the Spiderman movies where Spiderman was in an elevator with an average, everyday guy.
When it came time to work out the actual piece, I thought, “Why don’t I use MY favorite superhero?” - who has always been Wonder Woman, ever since I was a kid. But when I changed the gender of the superhero like that, it sort of altered the meaning of the painting. It became about my own “body image demons” - the constant “measuring up” to this personal standard I have in my mind, not only of what I should look like, but how I should act and just “be” in general.
Anyway, the point, I guess, is that both women are flawed and beautiful in their own ways. It’s not a commentary on which is better than the other. They are on floor number “10” because they’re both “perfect 10’s,” don’t you think? You can take whatever you want from it, however it relates to you.
Unrequited Love in an Elevator, Part 2
40 x 60 inches
oil on canvas
This is a sequel/companion painting to the first Unrequited Love in an Elevator painting, this time from the male perspective. This poor guy is playing the guitar and singing his heart out, but she is too immersed in the music of another inside her headphones to give him any attention.
Me in My Pajamas with a Businessman in an Elevator
40 x 60 inches
oil on canvas
This piece contrasts two opposite personas... A serious, stuffy businessman with silly little me in my pajamas with a pillow and some coffee. Just seems like it would be a humorous and awkward encounter if it happened in real life.
I just wanted to depict a scene involving the major Las Vegas stereotypes all crowded into an elevator. You have newlyweds, a gambling grandma, a showgirl, a man with a probable prostitute, and an Elvis impersonator. We also have a mother, shieldling her son's eyes from the other characters on board.
