Original artwork description:

“All The Words In Between” - acrylic and inks on aquabord. 18' x 22" x 1" (framed measurement). Ready to hang.

I am a huge fan of the poet Amy Vaughn. Recently, she posted a poem titled “Words”. Right away, I knew I had to paint it:

What I want
She said
Is to write,
To let the raw power of
Words
Escape from the tips of my fingers
And bleed me dry
Like the dying corpse of a
Bluefish.

This is what I must do
To purify myself
To make myself whole,
To get it all out
The dirty crusts of words
And the lofty cloudy words
And all the words in between.

Words are the sandwich
And the filling,
The side dish
And the drink
They are the complete meal
For a hungry soul.

When I am done,
When all the words have been
Wrung out of me
And the last drop has
Evaporated into the summer breeze,
Then,
Then I will be able to move
Forward,
Go outside,
Do the laundry,
Run the errands,
Tackle the junk drawer.

But please, she said
Let me be
And let me write.
It is all I can do
It is all I should do.


The art began as this poem written in white ink on black-gesso’d aquabord. Then the woman began to emerge with oil pastels and acrylics, with the words peeking though, like thoughts fighting to get out and be heard. The finishing layer is brilliant inks, adding a glow to the face and intensity meant to convey the passion behind Vaughn’s words. What we want… is to be heard, to communicate, so you know ...what we want.

Materials used:

acrylic and ink on aquabord

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