Rosanna Lyons

During the isolation and trauma of Covid19, Rosana Lyons was gifted one model, her husband, Aaron. She took photos of him using strong lighting, to use as inspiration. She wanted to capture what she could of his pain, confusion and also hope. As a White woman, Rosana tried humbly, to capture something of which I have little experience, but feel immensely empathetic towards. Sometimes, for this project, the painting needed to remain rough and sometimes more detail was required. Her husband, Aaron is of mixed race and often feels isolated, not quite completely part of any community. Bright light makes his skin appear white and then completely black in the shadows, showing me that color is but an illusion; the characteristic of our visual perception. Aaron is both Black and White. And neither. In fact, to Lyons, his skin is made up of so many beautiful colors; magenta, ultramarine, viridian, orange, gold. She also wanted to convey the isolation we are all experiencing at this time; looking inward, a time of deep contemplation.