Make some noise for soft tummies

Welcome back to the amazing rosie_rosie_rosie in the pose (and sentiment) that brought her to my attention in the first place. To be clear, the title of this post came from her. What can I say about this wonderful figure?

She’s obviously a gorgeous lady. But even more than that, my eye was drawn to the idea behind the pose. Let’s embrace our bodies as they are and celebrate humanity. The tummy is an area of particular sensitivity to many women, and I’ve seen many bad nights go down at the hands of that ruinous set of expectations. I love that Rosie is facing that unreasonable demand head on here.

A friend once remarked she was glad I didn’t try to slim her down in a portrait. The idea hadn’t even occurred to me. I make these paintings to praise the people and things I find inspiring. I’m not picturing some fanciful of idea of how they could be. These women inspire exactly as they are. They are beautiful and worthy of all the praise. I am lucky and honored to have been able to work with them.