I am REALLY enjoying my winter Covidtide project of painting portraits of BADASS WOMEN SAINTS. What started out as both a labor of love and a challenge to my artistry : a portrait of St Brigid of Ireland has turned into a quest for me to tell the little-known stories of famous women Saints & ' saints" who inspire me.
I've painted Brigid, Perpetua & Felicity, Hildegarde, and just completed St Joan of Arc. My hope is to tell a wee bit about the woman's story as I paint her portrait. Colors are chosen carefully. For instance, the backdrop of St Joan of Arc's portrait is crimson--- showing that she was a martyr. I also " dressed" Joan in military fatigues to connote that she is the patron saint of soldiers.
Part of the joy that I get by doing these is seeing how other artists have portrayed these women throughout the ages. For instance, most artists portray St Brigid with red hair, but I came across more than one rendering of the Irish saint as a blonde. For my own image of my favorite saint, I stuck with the red hair. I also dressed my version of St Brigid in a clergy collar and chasuble-- as there is a story that St Patrick " accidentally" ordained Brigid as a BISHOP rather than consecrating her as a nun.
Yup. Badass.
For me, thinking about these women & their unique stories makes me feel like there is a place for me-- a childless artist, writer, beer-drinking, non-traditional woman in God's World. The stories of the women I choose to paint are from diverse places in time and different locales. Each woman was a product of the times in which she lived, yet God used her unique gifts & circumstances to accomplish a part of the Great Plan.
Furthermore, none of the woman I've featured in paintings has a husband. I find the women's " one in themselves" refreshing-- as I was single for many years before I met my spouse. I've been with my partner for over a decade, and he blesses me every day. However, I do not forget how lonesome Church life can be for a single and childless woman. Single Christian women { as opposed to widowed women} are looked at as suspect even as far as the 21st century. I cannot count the many times that well-meaning church people asked me " So when are you gonna get married? " or the more invasive" Why don't you have a boyfriend?" Looking back to those years, I wish I had the comfort of stories about Brigid, Hildegarde, and other women whose Belovedness was not attached to a man. Now, of course I love Brian, but I am a full person apart from him.
Being childless is still hard. But I am comforted by the legacy that Blessed Hildegarde leaves me: she " mothered" by tending to her music and writings. Hildegarde left behind a wealth of knowledge about medicinal herbs.
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