Feels good to be back with a new portrait! “Vestige” is a piece I created for Wow x Wow gallery and is a counterpart to an oil painting I made way back in 2017.

Oil painting portrait of a blonde girl with orangey brown trees across her eyes. The painting is called Vestige by Christina Ridgeway.

The first painting was called “Citizen of Glass”. Citizen of Glass is a song name by Agnes Obel, which I have long adored. She had explained that it is an expression in German, which means a person who is very transparent and has is no private life (like a celebrity).

I sort of took it and manipulated the meaning a bit, as an artist is want to do!

For me, especially in Vestige, I wanted to convey the feeling of vulnerability. Though one might try to hide who they are or how they feel – parts of them become visible anyway. Emotions that are hard to keep inside instead bloom out for the world to see.

 

Close up of Vestige, oil painting portrait of a girl with trees across her eyes by Christina Ridgeway

This is a feeling of exposure I feel both in my personal life but also through my art. Sometimes the undercurrents of my life are brought to life, if you are willing to read between the lines.

I hope you enjoyed this portrait, I know for me it was an interesting challenge to take on. It is a theme I really enjoy and hope to make again someday.

Though the original of this painting is already sold, I am open to making prints. If you are interested, you can inquire with me directly. Thank you for taking the time to read through this blog post and hope you have a wonderful transition into spring.