I Survived Sexual Abuse, Now I Paint Sensual Ecstasy

This piece was created as a variation of a self-portrait. Every year I created a self-portrait on my birthday as a way to record how I looked, however what always appeared on the canvas was how I felt about myself, whether the critique was too skinny, too old, too something. "Luscious 37" was another such attempt but with the intention of creating just how I felt. Body image in society for women focuses on skinny, sexy, photoshopped, perfect. Luscious 37 is voluptuous and unapologetically self-accepting. In the painting I included photographs of my actual body parts, such as my eyes and nipples, to represent this literal representation of my self-image.