He left me

This is my portrayal of a woman done with a nod to the Outsider Art, or Art Brut style. It measures 16x20x.75" and is acrylic on canvas. There is also text actually painted directly onto the canvas, and a crackle effect for depth.

The text reads: "He asked me one morning if I would like to take a ride in his new red cadillac, a steep and wavy rollercoaster. I didn't want to, but I did. I was so scared but excited, too. He was playing with my heart."

Her face has many different colors in it. There's turquouise, red, and shades of lavender. I used several layers of glaze to achieve this colorful look. Her lips are red, and her hair is auburn colored with white highlights running throughout. Her eyes are kind of grayish brown, and the background was done with white over black, and has a slight crackle effect in some areas.

When I completed this piece, a friend commented that he thought because of the colors on this lady's face (and perhaps the title of the piece) that it was a portrayal of brutality or abuse, or a commentary on battered women, but that's NOT the effect that I was shooting for; although I can understand why with the colors I used on her skin that people might interpret it that way. I just wanted "unusual" skintone colors, something more interesting than plain "fleshtone", not necessarily the "bruised and battered" look, but I guess that's how it turned out. Even though her mouth is slightly open, and showing teeth, she's not really smiling, per se, probably adding to the effect that she's sad and has been abused. Also, her large eyes do look a bit glassy...

I signed it right above her shoulder.

I show several photos from differing angles so you can get a feel for what this piece looks like in real life.