Painting on Cyanotype
Rest
Set on cyanotype print backgrounds rooted in family, nature, play, and love, these portraits celebrate the beauty, complexity, and divinity of sisterhood and womanhood. In a world that too often equates productivity with worth--a violent lie and myth weaponized to uphold capitalism’s extractive systems--these larger-than-life paintings assert: being is more than enough. I painted these portraits with reverence because a woman resting is a holy act, worthy of worship.
In lying still, in resting, in dreaming without apology, a woman reclaims her time. She reclaims herself. And in doing so, she moves the world forward.
Family
Mixed-media reflections on how my family has changed through the years and across a continental divide.
Getting Ready To Go Home, 2023. Watercolor and colored pencil on cyanotype print. Recreation of a photo from a family album featuring Maria and her mother.
Anna with a Bow, 2023. Colored pencil, gouache and airbrush on patterned paper partially coated with cyanotype solution. 12 x 9 inches. Recreation of an old family photograph of Maria’s sister.
Farewell Friend, 2023. Colored pencil and white ink on cyanotype print. 12 x 8 inches. Portrait of Maria’s late dog.
Exposed doily, tinsel and photo negative of Maria, her sister and her late grandmother. Airbrush on cyanotype print.
2 Matryoshka Dolls, 2023. Airbrush, gouache and acrylic gold paint on glued cyanotype prints. 8 x 8 inches. These two dolls moved with my family from Russia in 2001. Private Collection.
My Grandma Admits to Having Imaginary Conversations With Me When She Swims 4,874 Miles Away, 1 of 3.
My Grandma Admits to Having Imaginary Conversations With Me When She Swims 4,874 Miles Away, 2 of 3.
My Grandma Admits to Having Imaginary Conversations With Me When She Swims 4,874 Miles Away, 3 of 3.
Sweets
These paintings are meant to uplift the spirit in hard times. Inspired by some of my favorite memes and sayings.
Its Going to be Okay, 2023. Gouache on cyanotype print. 8 x 8 inches. Private Collection.
Goodnight Kittens, 2024. Gouache on cyanotype print, 8 x 8 inches. Private Collection.
So Many Places I’ll Go, 2023. Gouache and colored pencil on cyanotype print. 8 x 8 inches. Private Collection.
My Love and Support, 2023. Gouache and colored pencil on cyanotype print. 8 x 8 inches. Private Collection.
Playful Possum, 2025. Gouache and colored pencil on cyanotype print. 8 x 8 inches.
Time Continues, 2024. Gouache on cyanotype print. 8 x 8 inches. Private Collection.
So is the Love, 2023. Gouache on cyanotype print. 8 x 8 inches. Private Collection.
Dreams
Paintings inspired by the stories I remember from my dreams.
Fish Hook Earring, 2025. Acrylic paint on cyanotype print. 7 x 5 inches.
Two Friends Dance, 2024. Airbrush and colored pencil on cyantoype print. Exposed salt, coffee, netting and embossed tissue paper. 8 x 8 inches.
Hand Witch, 2024. Gouache on cyanotype print. Exposed lemon slice and doily. 6 x 2.5 inches.
The High Priestess, 2025. Gouache and acrylic gold paint on cyanotype print. 10 x 6 inches.
Cat Goddess, 2024. Gouache and acrylic gold paint on cyanotype print made with music sheet. 7 x 5 inches. Private Collection.
Knight of Swords, 2025. Gouache and acrylic gold paint on cyanotype print. 10 x 6 inches.
Sable the Namesake, 2024. Gouache on cyanotype print. 8 x 8 inches.
Two Full Moons, 2025. Gouache and colored pencil on cyanotype print. 12 x 12 inches.
The Flood, 2024. Gouache on cyanotype print. 12 x 8 inches.
Refugee Under Green Sun, 2023. Airbrush on cyanotype print. Exposed twine and water. 7 x 5 inches. Private Collection.
I would like to thank Jowita Wyszomirska for teaching me how to cyanotype and my friends and family for encouraging me to paint my little heart out.