Oh Mary Print

This current series of paintings is of men in swimming pools and I was inspired by gay life online, but it has become so much more to me. I believe we are living in a time where being visible and proudly so is more important then ever. How we present ourselves to each other, how we treat each other also fascinates me. I love painting my subjects in pools. Pools are metaphor rich environments. They are worlds that exist next to and are a part of the broader world, much like the gay community is a subset of society. People inside the pool looking out or those outside looking in have a slightly distorted view of each other. Pools are fluids, purity, cleanliness, suspension, temperature, inclusion, exclusion, isolation. Pools isolate a group of people and become their own community, a moment in time, an “other” world. That is in some ways how I view the gay community, separate yet part of the wider world.