It started with a desire to paint figures in larger scale…why, well because one of the things that drives everything I do, is a challenge. Now let me remind you that this was happening in the midst of our initial lockdown in the spring. I was overwhelmed with the drastic changes to our lives and I turned to painting because it’s the one thing I know that grounds me and allows me to get lost at the same time.

I started with one, Rhea, on paper just to get a feel for things, and then came nine more. But the initial sketch just sat and sat for a while until I worked up the courage to order some large panels. During this time I had rearranged my studio to include my kids in the mix as they were doing school remotely. I wasn’t able to fully separate my art practice from school and their lives. I’m not saying it was easily or joyful all of the time, but there were moments of pure harmony when the kids and I created beautiful work together.

The joy on their faces when they got to draw, write, scribble on my large panels was incredible to experience. They were so proud to contribute to these paintings. With their help, I began painting four more large figures. I gravitated towards darker colors for the underpainting and the base of the goddesses. Maybe because emotionally at that time, things were just not easy. But they weren’t sad paintings, they looked powerful and poised.

With each layer of paint I worked and reworked the figures, added more layers, took some away, and spent a lot of time with these ladies. I began to think of them as statues, their positions, the colors, and that's when they became Greek Goddesses.

Ella+Friberg+North+Carolina+figurative+artist

Months and months and months is how long I worked on this collection of figures. Lots of breakthroughs and ahas. Lots of patience and perseverance. A true representation of the fact that I need challenge to push myself to new levels. This last year was quite formative for me. So many changes and unpredictability from week to week took me down an unpleasant rollercoaster. But these paintings were consistent. I sat with them and reworked them and at the same time they worked on me. They opened my eyes to new techniques, new patterns, and provided the consistency that I was missing.

These paintings are real women being celebrated as Greek goddesses. They are tender, fierce, graceful, and full of power. They are you. They are me.

"In every block of marble I see a statue...I have only to hew away the rough wall that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it." -Michelangelo

That is how I feel about painting these figures. They were there from the start...but I had to chip away at myself, at my walls that were keeping me restrained before I could fully be exposed to their power and potential. It was only when I stood confidently in my potential before them, did I so clearly see what needed to be revealed. I look at their poses and I see ease, calmness, grace, and power.