Entangled
2025
72” x 48”
Oil on Wood
Description (Excerpt):
The initial approach to this piece was to explore love as a spectrum—chaotic and violent on one end, soft and tender on the other. Early sketches depicted entangled figures in a bed, limbs wrapped, hair pulled, skin stretched—physical intimacy at its most visceral. But as I worked through the composition, a shift occurred. Moments of softness—hands resting on pillows, arms embracing, heads gently nestled—felt more real, more like love.
Reading All About Love by Bell Hooks, I was struck by a quote from Harold Kushner on our fear of love’s risks, the avoidance of intimacy for fear of disappointment. This resonated with me, reinforcing my initial focus on physicality—gripping, tugging, caressing—as love’s rawest form. However, during a visit to my family in the Dominican Republic, I recognized love’s broader dimensions: love of self, identity, family, and friendship. Love is warmth, security, and an overflowing cup that nourishes those around us.
In a humorous twist, I realized the figures in my painting—based on my own body—represented self-love just as much as intimacy with another. The choice to render them in luminous green-yellow was intentional, referencing both the mating dance of slugs—grotesque yet beautiful—and the heart chakra, the center of love and compassion. This color embodies the essence of love as a radiant energy exchange, an aura that glows from within.
Ultimately, these figures surrender fully to one another, dissolving into their environment and each other. Their forms are shifting, translucent, merging—a metaphor for love’s dual nature: beauty and ugliness, ecstasy and pain. To truly love is to embrace another in their entirety, flaws and all. Love is not just an emotion; it is a conscious choice made every day. And that, I believe, is the essence of our humanity.
Thank you Patricia,
love you <3
Boat Scene, (The Talented Mr. Ripley)
2023
45” x 36”
Oil on Canvas
Description:
This painting depicts one of the most psychologically charged moments in The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999): the immediate aftermath of Tom Ripley's murder of Dickie Greenleaf. Rather than focusing on the violence itself, the painting lingers in the silence that follows. This scene was specifically chosen for its expansive water and distant mountain landscape, which create a deceptive sense of calm despite the violence that had just occurred.
The solitary boat, isolated against the horizon, emphasizes Tom Ripley's psychological state. Throughout the film, his obsession gradually blurs the line between admiration, desire, and identity, ultimately leading him to commit murder in pursuit of another person's identity."
The water serves as both a literal and symbolic element. It conceals evidence, reflects light, and suggests transformation. Its shimmering surface offers beauty while hiding the darkness beneath; The faint outline of Dickie's body is visible through the dark hull of the boat, hinting at the violence concealed beneath the scene's serenity.