I’ve included 3 images from the 5 painting series “The Red Wall Chronicles” which was my exploration of femininity, power, deity ideology and provocation. To create a consistent body of work (such as a Chronicles) I focused on what was important to me as a woman and as an artist.

To Do So

Wisdom was the pursuit of an all-fulfilled woman/deity. The inspiration came from my grandmother who was a beautiful artist. I granted her a modest pose as the focus was on the “aged” (heavy brushstroke) of the face evoking experience, the smile evidence of sublime happiness and the prayer pose is balance with one and the universe.

Wisdom

Knowledge was the last painting I finished in the series. As the title indicates the figure/deity is in pursuit of knowledge, one of the most complex aspects of humanity. Knowing when and how to receive the dew drops of precious brain food was as important in this piece as to know how to finish the composition. Gaining knowledge for me is always a journey, this painting was one of those journeys.

Knowledge

Potential is the in-your-face possibility of oneself. The grand and looming opportunity of everyone’s “potential” is what caused me to paint this figure. The gesso peaking out from loose paint strokes and very light coloring is my painterly depiction of this concept — what is seen is the beginning of a painting that is not quite finished. The viewer then is invited to create their own idea of the end result.

Potential

Lips and Cigarettes was a painting that took me a little over a year to finish. I began in summer of ’08 and wasn’t really finished until summer ’09. The inspiration was an organic melange of listening to music, using everything from brushes to finger painting and using the environment around me (pop culture, friends, work etc.) to influence the composition.

Lips and Cigarettes

EarDrum was completed around the same time as Lips and Cigarettes. The blue lips come from this very interesting photograph I saw of this blue woman with these amazing glossy lips that I was compelled to capture in a painting. Subsquently the rest derived from my visceral reaction to paint and those same blue lips.

EarDrum

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You can find out more about Sophia

on her site

@ todoso.daportfolio.com

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