Bereaved Mother Print

This painting is titled "Bereaved Mother" and although is abstract, resembles one of the first Aurora paintings I had ever made. I first started painting the Aurora Borealis, soon after my daughter Aurora died. I was painting everyday and had so many that I would mail them to other bereaved mothers around the world. One of those watercolor Auroras had 2 spirals meeting, very similar to this one. As I was painting the spirals, they looked to me as though it was a mother holding a child, and I knew in that moment that the closest I would ever be to Aurora again is in my painting. This is what makes my art so powerful. This is why I paint everyday, because the artist is a bereaved mother. This painting is part of my first fully abstract painting series. I paint the Aurora Borealis in memory of my daughter Aurora Annette, who died from Sudden Unexpected Infant Death, three days after she and her identical twin sister were two months old. I alchemize my grief, pain, and heartbreak into colorful paintings, inspired by the Aurora Borealis, and I dedicate each one to Aurora Annette. This abstract series serves as the visualization of my years-long journey from primary infertility to the grief after losing one of my twin infants. My artwork is several layers deep, from the literal layers of vibrant metallic acrylic paint and colorshifting glitter pigments to the emotional layers of trauma, depression, grief, and anxiety. The bright colors and sparkly glitter details are a stark contrast to the darker, more complex and complicated emotions that they hold.