Oil on canvas, 16" x 16"

I am a new transplant to Taos from Portland, Oregon where I honed my portrait and oil painting skills. My favorite subjects are people and animals and whatever lies between. Drifting between realism and surrealism, I love recreating vintage America, re-imagining the lives and stories of the characters on my canvas or just exploring the emotional color of faces.

I approached this project by reflecting on the stories of the Moon and Stars that I grew up with. I decided to invent my own mythology – one originating from my sense of wonder at the cosmos and its mysteries. A great many myths attempt to paint the world in dramatic colors or find hidden meanings in random events. In this case, my cosmos is filled with powerful mythological women who are responsible for the appearance -- and disappearance -- of the moon. They have cohorts who create the stars with the flick of a hand. And they have the occasional inexplicable falling star – is she being banned, punished, or has she chosen this? Mysterious feminine beauty infuses my nighttime sky. ~ Anna Magruder, Artist