SHERYL HUMPHREY
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
My series of small-scale paintings are invented portraits
that include elements of still life. The subjects of these portraits
from imagination are girls and women whose mysteriously direct
gazes take on an otherworldly aspect. The subjects seem far-seeing
or possessed of some arcane knowledge. These paintings are representations
of powerful forces that I sense within myself, in others, and
in the world around me. I sometimes think of these paintings as
portraits of young sibyls or oracles, or of the spirits of Nature.
"Sol" and the group of nine paintings entitled "The
Mutability of Luna," although not part of the small-scale
series, also reflect my visions of anthropomorphized energies
at work in the universe.
"Melusina" is the first of a planned series of depictions
of my interpretations of some lesser-known mythological or legendary
characters whose identities or fates are closely tied to Nature.
The painters of the Renaissance and the Baroque, the Symbolists,
the Pre-Raphaelites, the Post-Impressionists, the Nabis, Art Nouveau,
the Surrealists, the Magic Realists, Haitiian painting, and contemporary
Visionary and Self-taught artists have all inspired me. In-depth
readings on the subjects of herbalism, alchemy, folklore, and
mythology, in conjunction with close contact with Nature in my
gardens in Brooklyn and the Catskills, are sources for the subjects
of my paintings.