The New Gold Standard
2020
Excerpt from a conversation between curator Linda Tesner (curator of the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at PSU) and Laura Ross-Paul for the catalog Miracle Works.
LT: In looking at these different bodies of work, I am struck by your fearlessness in using new and sometimes non-traditional materials.
LRP: Each series represents an opportunity for me to try out a new medium, or new ways of using a medium. Ironically, I find that as I get older and become more adept at painting, my inspiration comes from technical challenges. I've been lucky to be an early paint tester for Gamblin Artist's Colors, and to count Gamblin product developer Martha Bergman as a good friend. Martha often encourages me to explore different materials and products. These can take years to conquer, and several bodies of work in this project resulted from such novel explorations.
LT: You are painting your newest series, "The New Gold Standard," during the unprecedented time of a global pandemic amid American social and political unrest. How have these current events, this moment in history, affected your work?
LRP: Although I typically draw from the live model, and often in group sessions, during the shutdown I've turned to old magazines, my own photos, books, magazines, and catalogs for "The New Gold Standard." I take a head from here, a body or body part from there, a background from wherever, and put them all together to represent a figure I identify with, no matter the body type My hope is that everyone viewing this work will personally identify with the femaleness of the figures, either as a representation of themselves or of someone they know.
The impetus for this series is to depict women from all over the world who are unified in two-breasted femaleness. By using a layering technique—painting the figure naked first, then adding clothes, then wiping through the oil to reveal two breasts—my intention is to convey the possibility of using the most breast-conserving treatment for cancer. “Gold standard” is the term physicians use to describe the treatment with the best statistical outcome. Women want to use cryoablation if they know about it. Through my artwork, I want to help alert them to this option. "The New Gold Standard" expresses my hope for women everywhere.
Paintings
2019-2020
Black Shawl
Inks, Wax, Resin, Oil on Board
20 x 16 in.
2020
Colorful Coat
Inks, Wax, Resin, Oil on Board
20 x 16 in.
2020
Pink Kick
Inks, Wax, Resin, Oil on Board
20 x 16 in.
2020
White Skirt
Inks, Wax, Resin, Oil on Board
20 x 16 in.
2020
Big Fur
Inks, Wax, Resin, Oil on Board
20 x 16 in.
2020
Striped Coat
Inks, Wax, Resin, Oil on Board
20 x 16 in.
2020
Chopsticks
Inks, Wax, Resin, Oil on Board
20 x 16 in.
2020
Checked Blouse
Inks, Wax, Resin, Oil on Board
20 x 16 in.
2020
Tie Dye
Inks, Wax, Resin, Oil on Board
20 x 16 in.
2020
Hose
Inks, Wax, Resin, Oil on Board
20 x 16 in.
2020
Small Cross
Inks, Wax, Resin, Oil on Board
20 x 16 in.
2020
Blue Earrings
Inks, Wax, Resin, Oil on Board
20 x 16 in.
2020
Red Flower
Inks, Wax, Resin, Oil on Board
20 x 16 in.
2020
Big Hat
Inks, Wax, Resin, Oil on Board
20 x 16 in.
2020
Blue Dress
Inks, Wax, Resin, Oil on Board
20 x 16 in.
2020
Blue Patterned Skirt
Inks, Wax, Resin, Oil on Board
20 x 16 in.
2020
Chickens
Inks, Wax, Resin, Oil on Board
20 x 16 in.
2020
Pink Shawl
Inks, Wax, Resin, Oil on Board
20 x 16 in.
2020
Red Sari
Inks, Wax, Resin, Oil on Board
20 x 16 in.
2020
Red Skirt
Inks, Wax, Resin, Oil on Board
20 x 16 in.
2020