We’re away this week, without much access to the internet, so posts will be brief, but hopefully no less beautiful!

Ali Cavanaugh’s soft, beautiful portraits are created by painting translucent layers of watercolor on wet kaolin clay panels. She calls her process modern frescos, since it bears some resemblance to the fresco-secco technique made popular during the Italian Renaissance. Cavanaugh’s portraits may be more modern and casual than their Italian predecessors, but they’re no less moving. I find her use of color and white space and her picking out of certain details to be really refreshing. They give me the feeling of underwater pictures, and I’m a big fan!

“My dependence on the visual world began when I lost much of my hearing through spinal meningitis at 2 years of age. This loss was a blessing in disguise as I learned to depend on body language and reading lips to communicate. So, from my youngest days, I became sensitive to the people around me and the unspoken language revealed through compositions of the human body.”

What a fascinating way to come to art! I love that she turned something difficult into a connection to art.

You can follow Cavanaugh on her website and on Facebook and Instagram.

All images property of Ali Cavanaugh.