TOMBOYS
Tomboys
I painted the tomboys on my tomboy clothes: jeans, flannels, T-shirts, using images and memories of my tomboy self.
I shot marbles, rode my bike really fast, and fought with my mother over wearing dresses.
Being a tomboy saved me.
The Tomboy paintings are a very important part of my work. I painted them in the early '90's when there was not much interest in tomboys.
Gay rights had happened, was happening, but the focus was on gay men, on the AIDS crisis.
We lesbians wore out flannel shirts and hung out in our small bars with our small incomes.
I made these paintings to fill a void of lesbian imagery but also because I was looking back to a time where I felt empowered and brave.
The Tomboy paintings began receiving attention many years later when the Leslie+Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art exhibited them in 2016.
Since then they have recognized, reviewed and show in galleries in NY and California.