Getting Ready With The Girls Painting

This artwork came about after getting ready for a night out with some friends. The painting explores serious themes and issues regarding identity and body-image but does so in a playful and light-hearted way. The painting captures several moments leading up to an unknown event, encapsulating a vast array of emotions ranging from pure excitement to dread and discomfort. When painting this artwork I spent a lot of time thinking about the idea of being comfortable in ones own skin and whether that is something that is fully achievable. As someone who struggles with mental-health and body-image issues I often find this an impossible feat but I knew I wanted this painting to be playful and exciting, and not just about discomfort. Through the use of various brush-strokes and application techniques I aimed to emphasise the struggle for comfort within ones skin and to demonstrate the volatility of identity (both physically and mentally). But, just as importantly, I adopted a vast array of also stylised brush-strokes in order to create a sense of movement and excitement- demonstrating that familiar feeling of uncertainty and excitement before heading out into the night.