Love This! So Fresh & So Clean: Paintings of Women Bathing

In keeping with last week's theme of extremely realistic figurative paintings that capture an intimate moment in time, lets take a look at the incredible work of painter Alyssa Monks.  As you can see for yourself (below), she, too, focuses on capturing a snapshot of our daily life--bathing--and turning it into a very powerful moment in time. She says the following about her work, "In a contemporary take on the traditional bathing women, my subjects are pushing against the glass 'window', distorting their own body, aware of and commanding the proverbial male gaze."  Interesting point of view, isn't it? And if you google "traditional paintings of bathing women", you'll see how much her work differs from past interpretations of the subject (while still embracing a common theme). 

Ready to be amazed? Remember, these are paintings. Amazing, I know...

Makes me want to take a bath, or a shower, or something!? I am so impressed by this work that I don't even know where to begin. I cannot believe that she is able to make her subjects look so completely wet, the steam on the glass so completely real, the water droplets so completely life-like, the glimpse so perfectly captured.

Very appropriate for a wet, rainy Wednesday, aren't they? You can see more work by Alyssa Monks on her website, here. 

Namaste!
Mary Catherine