Paint By Number Series - Pattern C (Front View), canvas, acrylic, embroidery floss, graphite, 19.5” x 19.5”, 2019
Paint by Numbers Series deconstructs the male tradition of painting, which uses paint, canvas, and stretcher bars, and transforms these into fabric, thread, and patterns, resulting in a feminized textile medium.
Prior to assembling the paintings, patterns are planned out and paint squares are picked at random. The spontaneity of the process adds an element of chance, while at the same time maintains a controlled process of assemblage. Finally, the paint squares are stitched by hand using needle, thread, and thimble.
Stitching by hand is an homage to a woman’s childhood, when mothers taught their daughters to sew buttons and mend holes in clothes. Although the series is born out of the medium of painting, the emphasis is on the tradition of women’s work and how women are pressured to fit into a field so heavily dominated by men.
