From the time I was a small child, I have had a complicated relationship with my body and self image. 

As many women and men can, I more easily see the flaws in my own appearance than the beauty.  Whether or not

others view a person as flawed, it is their own awareness of their imperfections that cause them to be

vulnerable- a state that is magnified under self examination and when alone. It is my intention to

capture this isolation with respect for both the vulnerability of the models and their courage to share it.	

 I chose the figure after finally becoming able to see some beauty in the imperfections of my own body

as well as those of others.  I chose to concentrate on figures that are not idealized or romanticized and

that I find more interesting than the stereotype of beauty forced by the media and society.  I have picked

out and portrayed beauty in the wobbly bits of the models, not by softening or camouflaging the truth of

them, but by affectionately calling attention to their reality.	

 My recent paintings focus on a solitary figure and its relationship to the space in which it exists. 

All of my works are in oil, and are comprised of elements created from a variety of brushes and palette

knives.  Though my works are both figurative and representational, they focus on surface complexity and

exaggerated mark making.  My intent is to produce paintings with convincing mass, form, movement, and

strong physicality of both the figures and the paint. 







-Heather Duffy, Spring 2007