The Heart Still Beats Fire Painting

"The Heart Still Beats Fire" is part of my series, "My Tribe which addresses society’s misconceptions on growing old and raises awareness of our aging population and encourages a dialogue between the two. The fire in our hearts yearns until the last beat. My series is a collection of human figures in various degrees of disintegration and fragility as one would see in the aging body. The figures are unfinished with missing parts to symbolize deterioration and the decline and weakness of the body. I added elements to display the wonders and beauty of maturing. By incorporating bright, vibrant colors in my figures, I am challenging the stigma that is prevalent in our world when interacting with the aging population. Furthermore, to me growing old brings visions of the ancient and mystical. I have included a certain degree of this spiritual mystery to my images by putting various symbols onto the canvases and frames. The painting is on a large sheet of canvas that I have pulled and frayed at the edges to loosen the fibers. The distress canvas is screwed onto a wood paneled frame that looks weathered. These treatments to the canvas and frame further strengthen the symbolism of our aging bodies. The human form dominates the canvas in size to reinforce the message I am projecting to the viewer. The message is that our aging population is growing, vital to society, and full of splendor.