Susan Woodward Torrance Welsh

welcome the gallery about the artist

WELCOME TO SWTWelsh.com.... THE STUDIO SITE OF Susan Woodward Torrance Welsh. All work on this site is original. Please see the Gallery page for a wide selection of available work. Although these photographs do capture the nature of the work; the texture, depth, and detail of the paintings can not be reproduced. Most paintings have many layers. Several of the paintings featured here have already been sold, but are included as part of the larger portfolio. Paintings of similar design could be created by special order. If you wish to order a painting, contact the artist directly: susanwelsh@cox.net New 2007 Work includes: the bird cages, Series 1, 2, and 3. It is almost overwhelming to consider how much remains unchanged since the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in terms of ideas about women's nature and role in society. Today, seven years into the twenty-first century, women are faced with more possibilities than ever before, but also more mixed and damaging messages. The contemporary media offers a wide array of sexually liberated female role models, but most are so emotionally unbalanced that they are hardly more evolved than a nineteenth century fiction character. Within the bird cages body of work, I explore this theme, revisit the questions raised by early twentieth century female American author Virginia Woolf and her contemporaries, and encourage a continued dialogue. Door-less bird cages (plus hooks, ropes, chains, and other hanging devices), silhouetted female forms, collaged newspaper and magazine clippings, red embroidery thread, and stenciled text all serve as tools within the paintings. When I collage the mixed media to create layers, I rely on established stereotypes to force questions about existing gender roles. The bird cages exhibited here include: (Series 1) five framed paintings, acrylic on paper, with late nineteenth/early twentieth century literary quotations, (Series 2) four framed paintings using photographic images of antique bird cages, and (Series 3) two large scale oils on canvas. Please keep in mind..... This site is a work in progress. The inventory and portfolio are updated often. So, please check back soon!