This collection, The Real Housewives of Art History, is a series of hyperrealistic, digital charcoal pieces that explore concepts in time, technique and gender roles. Through these sarcastic, monochromatic portraits, my work balances pop culture and history, intertwines technology and fine art and examines the role women have played in society over time.

My work is meant to be fun and cheeky in concept but more sincere and deliberate in the message and technique. While the color palette may be limited, the meaning behind these pieces is not. Realism is a skill I’ve studied for 10 years, but I’ve found that the true gift is being able to create something totally unrealistic; something that has never existed and never will. It allows my audience to let their imagination take over and find the underlying idea or perspective. 

I wanted to create a collection that would catch the viewer’s eye and maybe get a smirk upon first glance, but start a conversation after deeper consideration. Each piece took ~25 hours to create, which gave me a lot of time to think about the subjects from previous centuries I was drawing compared to the “real” housewives of today. It allowed me to think about everything that’s happened since the women in these portraits were alive and what their roles were in society, and the stark contrast to today’s female media leaders (ok… Bravolebrities) and even myself. From their “lewks” to their rights, so much has changed, yet so much has remained the same.

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