Third Time’s a Charm, 2018

oil on canvas
30”x 40” (76cm x 102cm)

Third Time’s a Charm is the third painting I created in my Crazy Stuffed Animal series. As soon as I had placed the last stroke of paint, I felt a sense of celebration… all the elements of the piece came together in a perfect way, and even looking back at it now I would not change a single thing about it. The work is the perfect mixture of recognizable realism, such as the crisply rendered faux fur foot and the sliver of folded silver ribbon, and the imaginary world, manifested through the cloud-like floating hand and the dreamy explosion of flat-color confetti.

There are so many little moments throughout the piece that I hope bring the viewer as much joy as they bring me. The shimmery strokes of the theatrical spotlight echoing the thick tufts of pink fur, the deep shadows and bright highlights that provide a dramatic dimensionality, the floating wispy eyebrow and simple red nose in the background that could almost be another piece of confetti. Every brushstroke is a visual manifestation of the struggle, revelation, and pure bliss I experienced while painting this piece. At its core, this painting is an ode to the moment of self-celebration that occurs when you can finally take a step back and take in the full scope of what you are able to create.