Valerie McGaughey's Gallery

Triad Spirit Women: Triad is the triple goddess. This trinity is found world wide as the daughter, mother, and crone. The tree of life that binds the female spirit through generations encircles all of us. Technique: Dyes,graphite, acrylic, on canvas. Dimensions: 90"H × 60"W
Photo By: TextileArt by Valerie McGaughey

About this Gallery: For the past several years I’ve been drawing and painting a series of Spirit Women. They are painted on rice paper and mounted on woven natural fiber that I’ve dyed. These women are archetypes or prototypes of female myths and feminine energies. When I start drawing them I do not use a model or a photograph, nor do I have an image in mind. I let the brush begin painting and they materialize, often slowly, but surely. As the series progressed, I became curious about the source of these images. Apparently they are patterns of thought and symbolic imagery that are inherited and present in our unconscious minds, often referred to as the collective unconscious. The naming of each one and her attributes was another exercise in fantasy on my part.