beyond beauty

beyond beauty is an original acrylic mixed media painting done on a 24" x 36" canvas. This one was made as somewhat of a love letter to myself. I have struggled with disordered eating, body image issues, as well as over exercising. It wasn't until covid closed down the gyms that I realized how much I depended on working out to feel worthy of food. Since working through this, my body has changed significantly. While I feel better for the most part, my body image and my levels of confidence around those issues are still things I struggle with. I wanted to turn my body into something I could admire. So I did, literally. This painting is an almost exact imprint of my body. I put paint on places that I felt most insecure, and pressed myself into the canvas. In doing so, I made something I could be confident in with something I wasn't confident in. I turned one of my biggest insecurities into something I could look at and be proud of. It was as if I could finally see the worth I didn't know I had. Worth, I realized, that came from within, no matter what I looked like. Who I was, was no longer defined by my insecurities. I became who I am, beyond the physical, beyond beauty. 
 
This piece will come completed with a glass-like resin finish.