Portrait of Grandmother 1

I created this artwork at a time when, due to various circumstances, my family was forced to put my grandmother in a retirement home. I would visit her whenever I longed for her unconditional love and simple glow and presence. Eventually, I realized that her situation was deteriorating, therefore I decided to take a series of photographs of her seated on the bed at the retirement home. Finally, I captured her expressions from the series and merged them in a triptych before she died. This artwork is the first of the series. I used acrylic paint to capture the immediacy of the gestures in the moment and create a sort of movement throughout the work. I focused and outlined her portrait in charcoal to create a sort of permanence, a boundary between her fading background and her being because it didn't matter to me, wherever she may be, she will always be present. I emphasized and exaggerated her special features, such as her twisted and crippled fingers, and the wrinkled texture of her skin due to old age. I was captivated by her facial expression, so full of hope, love, and despair all at once.