TRIPPING DOWN A TOWN & COUNTRY LANE TO INSPIRATION

“Who knows what women can be when they are finally free to become themselves? Who knows what women’s intelligence will contribute when it can be nourished without denying love?”

“The only way for a woman, as for a man, to find herself, to know herself as a person, is by creative work of her own.”

― Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique

Flipping pages through  a high society fashion magazine on a lazy afternoon, the unexpected and surprising inspiration for a painting came from a pretty, pouty young woman with a far away look, dressed in Channel Haute Couture, and to my mind, on the edge of rebelling into her own unique womanhood.    Her unruly auburn curls made a statement of her individuality as they spilled out onto her shoulders in defiance of taming.  I felt compelled to capture the essence of her porcelain face as she gazed out at her fantasy world from under an enormous black, veiled hat.

The Feminine Mystique.  With artistic license, I borrowed from the magazine image to portray the feeling I wanted to present, which is open to interpretation by the viewer to create their own story about her.  She has an aura of mystery that intriques and draws you into wanting to know more.  She has the charisma, the glamour, but lets you know that deep down, she is much more than a pretty face.

FEMININE MYSTIQUE ~ 12 x 16 Acrylic                                                        Currently on exhibit at Towers Gallery, 210 N. Cloverdale Blvd, Cloverdale, CA $400.00

As you expand into your creativity, expect to be inspired in unexpected places.   It is always a delight to find your muse leading you to push the envelope as you attempt to express your inner vision on the canvas. Trust your intuitiveness.   I often put a blank canvas on the easel and wait for that intuitive pull.  I wonder sometimes, if the canvas calls the muse until the energy of the calling reaches my consciousness, giving birth to inspiration.  In this painting, I believe it did.

© Maria Doglio, March 23, 2015

(Thank you to Town & Country Magazine, April 2015 issue, young model Stella Roversi, for your beauty and inspiration)