Prayer Beads Painting

Hailing from Southern California, Devon has long grappled with the intricate dynamics of societal expectations and personal empowerment. While immersed in a major media capital as a young woman, she found herself navigating beyond social norms and embracing her inner voice regarding self-perception, body image and the public presentation of the female form. Through her expressive brushstrokes, Devon’s paintings serve as poignant moments of introspection, encapsulating the constant dialogue between empowerment and surrender. They remind us that in a world where women are often objectified and devalued, it is more important than ever to celebrate and empower the female voice. Devon speaks about her passion for figure painting: “There is something so intimate about painting another person. Each stroke of the brush represents a tactile part of the subject’s body. There’s a realization I have about that body’s structure, its markings and changes in color... the model is letting me see it and record it. Looking at an artist’s brushstrokes on a figure is like looking on that moment the artist saw it on the body. The painter is sharing a moment with the subject and the viewer at the same time. Or, the painter is sharing a moment with the viewer and the subject is unaware. Pointing out: “Do you see how that part of the hand becomes rough and dark from the sun? Do you see the blue in the shadow on her neck or the light that reflects up from her shirt?” I want to share that with the viewer in my own work. When I look at my paintings, I can almost remember making each stroke. Sometimes I see a moment in my own piece and realize I don’t remember putting that paint on the canvas at all. Then I get to see it, almost, for the first time. I realize how beautiful it looks. I want to incite the curiosity I feel when I look at Caravaggio, Botticelli, Lucien Freud or Singer-Sargent paintings. I want the viewer to find those moments when one brushstroke hits another and creates a space to be immersed in.”