Appalachian Goddesses on Black Velvet

Appalachian Goddesses on Black Velvet is a celebration of a region, of women, and of a way of life. I wanted to take the kitschiness of the velvet Elvis hanging in granny’s living room and combine that with the names of Greek goddesses, whose names are synonymous with love, survival, and heart.

Women are resourceful as well as instinctual and I wanted to capture the stories of how we support each other, raise our daughters, and carry our sisters.

The idea to create this series is heavily inspired by my fascination with the female figure in our culture coupled with my love of mythology and folklore. 

The use of velvet helps to create a texture that is both rich and unpredictable, and the starkness of color against the black is something I find very intriguing. I relied on acrylic paint in part because of the quick drying time.  

Concept & Process

The process of creating velvet paintings definitely became more refined as I worked. I became familiar with the tendencies of the paint to settle into the fabric, especially overnight.

Each painting is achieved with many layers, sometimes very thick layers, to stand above the sponge-like effect of the velvet.

I realized that laying paint down and letting it dry, and coming back to it was like building my figure like a building, from the ground up. It also gave me many chances to enhance special features or aspects of the goddess I was painting. I used a reference photo for some goddesses and completely created some goddesses from my imagination.