Rachel Ungerer - Black Lives Matter

Medium
Acrylic Paint on Canvas

Description
“Black Lives Matter” is part of a series inspired by Women’s March in Oakland. There is pair of women standing in a crowd with a black woman in the foreground and a white woman in the background. On the right side of the painting, the young black woman stands in joyful self-confidence. She is painted with thick broad brush strokes and soft washes. On the left side of the painting is a white woman wearing a Black Lives Matter t-shirt. She has a gentle smile directed toward the woman on the left. Those that marched that day, gathered in joyful solidarity. They were all angry about the system of government actively working to oppress them. Yet they were full of such joy and celebration, to be joined by so many others.

Describe Style and Technique
I enjoyed using gestural brush strokes while I painted to capture a dynamic fleeting moment in my paintings. This painting was inspired by a numerous photographs that I captured during Women’s March in Oakland. I marched, while in chronic pain,and I took as many pictures as I could of all of the powerful people who marched that day. I noticed that people from all different walks of life and political backgrounds were joyfully walking together. For that reason, these paintings are best viewed as a series. Only a large series of paintings can capture the multitude of voices that rose up that day. I used washes and large blocks of color to give a sense of being noticed in a large crowd.