Page 16 - the NOISE August 2014

SKIN DEEP & DEEPER: EMPOWERING YOUNG WOMEN ONE PORTRAIT AT A TIME
Two faces dominate the walls of suzanne doucette- stebila’s gallery in the Aspen Loft Artists studios — a punky, pixie-esque redhead with large, slanted green eyes;
and a more classic beauty whose dark hair, red lips and averted eyes exude a demure sensuality.
The former is Ms. Stebila’s niece Maisy samuelson, and the latter, her best friend’s daughter, Jessie erikson, both longtime favorite subjects of the artist for their intriguing features, juicy youthfulness, and her intimate relationship with the young women.
“I’m not a fantastical painter,” says Mrs. Stebila, who works almost exclusively in oils. “I like to have a point of reference. Working from photographs of people I know, I have two — the image, and something I already know about them I know would transfer really well into a great painting.”
For some of her portraits, Ms. Stebila takes the photo- graphs herself, posing her models to evoke a desired mood or allowing them to do what comes naturally; and for others, she works from preexisting photographs that catch her eye. This month’s cover piece, Dragonfly, was inspired by an image Ms. Stebila saw of her niece on Facebook covering her mouth with her hands in support of the NOH8 campaign for gender, marriage and human equality.
“I replaced ‘NOH8’ with the dragonfly — a symbol of matu- rity, depth of character and the defeat of self-created illusion
— because Maisy’s outspokenness on such a controversial is- sue impressed me,” says Ms. Stebila. “I wanted to express how in touch young adults are with the issues of the day and to respect their opinions.”
Poppy and bright, with slightly exaggerated features and hyped color schemes, Ms. Stebila’s “Maisy paintings” have the feel of softly animated photographs, sharply defined in some areas (bright red lips, black fingernails) and loose in others (smudged eyes, milky, blue-white skin), so that they are sug- gestive of photorealism and impressionism, but are neither.
Lazy Masey, an up-close depiction of her niece lounging on a bed, hugging a pillow, fully captures the lassitude of teenag- erdom; and Anime Masey, in which a wide-eyed Ms. Samuel- son holds her hands to her chest, the universal expression of being caught by surprise.
Like the translucent shimmer Ms. Stebila allows to shine through the layers of paint to the surface, many correlations can be drawn between the artist’s philosophy on painting and her perspective on life in general — both of which seem to hinge on the detrimental effects of striving for perfection in either.
“I’m not interested in perfection,” she says. “I used to teach yoga and one of my gurus said ‘there’s no joy in Samadhi’ — Samadhi being the highest level — ‘it’s such a bore.’ So why would I want to paint like a photograph? Take a picture. I think it’s all about the imperfections ... and it’s really hard not to try to make something perfect. To make a mark and leave it there and let it stand for itself.”
The philosophy shows up visually in the swaths of canvas, thin and loosely rendered, resisting the urge to overwork the image; and fascination with and slight exaggeration of the features that make the individual unique, what some might see as imperfections. But it also goes beyond the canvas, inspiring a dialogue with young women and the notion of body image, and has become a means of empowering young women by providing them with a mirror that reflects back to them their outer and inner beauty.
“One of the most challenging stages a young woman can experience in today’s society is the notion of body image,” says Ms. Stebila. “When women compare themselves to other women it creates an internal dialogue that can skew the ac- tual from the projected image. I wanted to paint Maisy be- cause she had the appearance of being comfortable in her skin, even at 16; and this projected outward and compelled me to paint her.”
“My Aunt Sue has been somebody I look up to for as long as I can remember,” says Ms. Samuelson, who is preparing to study Wildlife Biology at ASU. “The very first painting she did of me was from a photo taken after the first time I cut my hair really short — which I think was a very important mile- stone in my life. I feel like it’s more than a coincidence her first painting of me was from the first time I ever felt really excited looking in the mirror. I’ve always been told that other people hardly notice the flaws you notice in yourself, but there’s more to it than that. Other people notice the things beautiful about you that you probably overlook while focusing so much on your flaws. I’m honestly still figuring out how to love myself, but I know that focusing on who you are, and what you love, will carry over into how you feel about your body.”
Reflecting the edgier look of her niece, Ms. Stebila’s por- traits of Ms. Samuelson are visually bolder than her “Jessie paintings,” which have a muted quality from working with a more subdued, primary palette; softer definitions, and the fact that the subject’s gaze is often directed inward or off to the side, leaving the viewer to ponder what she is seeing, feel- ing and contemplating.
For a few in the extensive series, Ms. Stebila drew inspira- tion from classic photographs of Audrey Hepburn and Geor- gia O’Keefe that focus on women’s hands, fashion and face. In Strong Woman II, Ms. Stebila’s current favorite, Ms. Erikson, sporting an upturned collar, clasps subtly enlarged hands against an equine neck twisting haughtily off to the side. The portrait is detailed enough so that Ms. Erikson would be rec- ognizable to someone who knew her, but vague enough that the viewer’s imagination has room to dream up their own in- terpretation.
“When creating the series, I searched images that would match my ideas to represent a strong woman, using women who were active in changing women’s status,” says Ms. Stebilia.
“Georgia O’Keefe was an independent artist whom I respected,
16 • AUGUST 2014 • the NOISE arts & news • thenoise.us