This is the mixed media distressed painting in its current Adobe Photoshop state, layer 11. I will print "stage 4" using the large format printer, tear it up, and laminate some of the pieces – there’s a secret step at this point - onto the canvas board. After doing the dechirage (torn paper) I will once again cover everything with oil crayon and coat all with a heavy layer of opaque tempera, then scrape through everything. The painting will not be finished. Instead there will be at least 3 to 6 more layers to go. I usually work on 2 to 4 paintings simultaneously because I am constantly waiting for layers to dry on each painting.
So, I have begun another mixed media distressed painting, this one titled, "Two Spirits." The terms is not technically an LGBTQ term. Rather it is a term that refers to indigenous peoples, many cultures worldwide in which gender-diverse roles (boy and girl, neither, or other) are not only acceptable but understood as "normal," sometimes special, even spiritual in nature. From now on I will alternate work on the two paintings, Transwoman and Two Spirits.*
*"Normal" in Western cultures is understood to apply to a large group of people or things that are supposed to be similar. Mathematically, the concept "normal," norm is one number in the exact center of a set of numbers. In anthropology - the study of human cultures - "normal" as used in the West cannot be applied to other cultures, and is an inappropriate trope as used in our culture.
