Chloe McEldowney

Region: Midwest

Website: http://www.chloemceldowney.com

City / State: Wilmington, DE

 After the birth of my son, my painting habits were forced to change. I often found myself painting the same plant over several days and at different times of the day, watching the plants move through their tireless process of becoming more closely than I had before. Leaves wilted and drooped and roots drank and they stood tall again. Watching these changes in what seems like stop motion, and then integrating that flux into my work, gave me a sense of ease as I waded through the constant, sometimes chaotic changes to my child, my body, and my life.

Drawing on dual roles as an artist and mother, my work explores these tensions and triumphs that exist in the worlds of nurturing what you love. Through painting plants and people, I explore the dual needs for solitude and connection; for self-sacrifice and self-care; and for growth as excitement about newness and grief for what is lost. Reflecting those dissonances, my paintings are a fragmented, disrupted environment lovingly crafted by an endless pursuit of understanding.