the Painting Activist

Painting in progress, 11.8.08

Ashley Cecil — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 19:44:09 +0000

‘Women of Mass Construction,’ Pae Dah

Ashley Cecil — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 04:45:22 +0000

11″ x 14″‘ oil on masonite board.
Email me at ashley.cecil at gmail.com for purchasing inquiries.
A donation from sold painting will be made to the Women’s Second Chance Scholarship Fund.

Gallery caption:

Kentucky Refugee Ministries is a resettlement agency authorized by the U.S. Dept. of State to assist refugees who have been legally admitted to the United States, as victims of warfare or other forms of persecution because of their religious or political beliefs.

Pae Dah came to Louisville as a client of KRM from a refugee camp in Thailand where she lived for two year after being forced from her home country of Burma. Although Pae Dah is still separated from several family members, and adjusting to American culture and the English language, she smiled through most of our interview as she spoke of her new found freedom.

Pae Dah’s quote in the painting;

I’ve come to Louisville and I am very happy because it is freedom.

Obama in 08 or seriously scary times

Ashley Cecil — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 02:58:09 +0000

It’s crunch time people! Donate or sign up to volunteer for the Obama campaign.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjXyqcx-mYY

Click here for a direct link to the youtube video.

‘Climate Change on Canvas’

Ashley Cecil — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 23:44:43 +0000

48″ x 72″ oil on canvas
SOLD
See all artwork available for sale.

I am so incredibly honored to publish this post. This enormous painting was commissioned by my favorite kind of client, a nonprofit organization. I was selected by Oxfam America to create an image that represents the connection between climate change and poverty. The work will also represent Oxfam America’s Climate Change on Canvas project at the next United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change meeting in Poznan, Poland in December, 2008.

Oxfam America is an international relief and development organization that creates lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and social injustice. The goal of the Climate Change on Canvas project is to use artwork and visual imagery to challenge the UN delegates to recognize the effects of climate change on the world’s poorest communities. Lacking sufficient resources, poor communities are least prepared to adapt to the most severe impacts of climate change. To learn more about Oxfam’s climate change campaign, visit www.oxfamamerica.org/climate

Oxfam America is just one of many Oxfam International affiliates who will be creating canvases for this project. Similar works of art will travel from all over the world—created by professional artists, unknown artists and members of developing communities—to be exhibited at the UN conference, representing a unified global movement around climate change and poverty. This piece will go to Poland and come back to the US where Oxfam plans to use art as a mobilization tool around climate change in 2009.

You should know that Oxfam is also looking for similar works from art students from around the country. If you are interested in learning more about this component of the project, email Oxfam’s Lead Student Organizer, Gabriel Barreras, at gbarreras[at]oxfamamerica[dot]org.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwcF6z2fc50

Thanks to Oxfam staff for contributing content for this post.

‘Women of Mass Construction,’ Whitten Montgomery

Ashley Cecil — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:26:02 +0000

11″ x 14″‘ oil on masonite board.
SOLD
A donation from sold painting will be made to the Women’s Second Chance Scholarship Fund.

Gallery caption:

Kids Acting Against Cancer (KAAC) raises money to help the fight against cancer primarily through ticket sales to youth musical performances.

Whitten, and her sister Jaclyn, founded KAAC out of their dream to help kids and their families suffering from cancer. Inspired by their mother, Sandy (an 11 year cancer survivor), their mission is to literally act to help find the cure. The girls, along with countless other children of all ages, have put on musical productions to raise money for the charity. In addition to entertaining, they have distributed backpacks and gift packs to sick children locally as well as made generous donations to several cancer charities.

Whitten’s quote in the painting:

I wanted to find a way to use acting to help my mom. It started as something to keep our minds of it. For the first performance 30 people came and paid $3 to see us perform ‘Annie’ in my basement. To date we’ve raised $250,000 (she’s 18 years old).

‘Women of Mass Construction,’ Diana & Madison

Ashley Cecil — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 21:43:37 +0000

11″ x 14″‘ oil on masonite board.
Email me at ashley.cecil at gmail.com for purchasing inquiries.
A donation from sold painting will be made to the Women’s Second Chance Scholarship Fund.

Gallery caption:

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kentuckiana helps children reach their potential through professionally supported one-to-one relationships between youth and adult mentors.

When Diana’s daughter left for college, she set out to fill her empty nest with a child in need of her time. BBBS paired Diana with Madison, a Katrina evacuee. Diana has helped Madison through the transition to a new city under less than ideal circumstance. Aside from recreational outings, they’ve also delved into Madison’s social challenges at school. The two journal together about what makes Madison angry. Then, they shift the focus to positive thoughts about the people in Madison’s life. Although these experiences are meant for Madison’s wellbeing, Diana admits they’ve equally benefited her.

Quote in the painting:

‘She’s here! She’s here!’ I’ve never had someone so excited to see me. It’s wonderful to make a difference in her life.

Painting in progress, 9.21.08

Ashley Cecil — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 03:39:42 +0000

Painting in progress, 9.9.08

Ashley Cecil — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 03:19:37 +0000

‘Women of Mass Construction,’ Ashlee Swift

Ashley Cecil — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 00:20:00 +0000

11″ x 14″‘ oil on masonite board.
Email me at ashley.cecil at gmail.com for purchasing inquiries.
A donation from sold painting will be made to the Women’s Second Chance Scholarship Fund.

Gallery caption:

Youth Alive seeks to enhance youths’ life experiences by giving them role models and a network of support mentors to guide and direct them in their developmental years as they become our future leaders.

The organization’s executive director, Kenny Boyd, recently told me one of his top priorities for the week was securing the remainder of Ashlee’s St. Francis High School tuition. Ashlee loves attending St Francis, an educational opportunity she would have missed out on otherwise. She commends Youth Alive for bringing racial diversity to the high school’s student body.

Ashlee’s quote in the painting:

Some people give up on kids. They don’t do that. We have mentors who pretty much become our best friends. When I see them, they always give me a big hug.

Painting in progress, 9.5.08

Ashley Cecil — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:09:38 +0000

Painting in progress, 9.4.08

Ashley Cecil — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 04:38:33 +0000

‘Women of Mass Construction,’ Alexis & Kelsey

Ashley Cecil — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 04:03:41 +0000

11″ x 14″‘ oil on masonite board.
Email me at ashley.cecil at gmail.com for purchasing inquiries.
A donation from sold painting will be made to the Women’s Second Chance Scholarship Fund.

Gallery caption:

Alexis and Kelsey, Court Appointed Special Advocates of Jefferson County
The Court Appointed Special Advocates program provides training and support to volunteer advocates who serve as a voice in court for the best interests of abused and/or neglected children through the jurisdiction of the Family Court.

These two beautiful girls played with new Easter bunnies while I listening to their grandparents tell their heart-breaking story. The toddlers’ parents’ rights were terminated by a judge due to their drug addiction. Their CASA volunteer, Robin, played a critical role ensuring the girls’ case was given thorough attention and that they were placed in a loving home. Alexis and Kelsey now live with their grandparents, who tell me “there should be more people like Ms. Robin. She should be a judge in family court.”

Quote in the painting from the girls’ grandparents:

They would have taken from place to place. We probably wouldn’t have ever seen them again.

Portrait by portrait

Ashley Cecil — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 04:02:53 +0000

Now that the “Women of Mass Construction’ exhibit has come down, (and I’ve finally gotten great shoots of each of the portraits) I’m going to feature each woman one-by-one. Consider this your own private, virtual gallery tour. These women certainly deserve the spotlight.

I suppose the best place to start is with my artist’s statement:

“I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.” -Rabindranath Tagore

My life long interest in art-making came to a rather dismal place three years ago when it struck me that art for art’s sake wasn’t enough anymore. At the same time I was beginning to really engage myself in the Louisville community through volunteer work. Through a process as natural as breathing, I soon reignited my love for painting with new meaning: illustrating my developing interest in social issues on canvas.

Soon I launched ashleycecil.com (‘the Painting Activist’), a personal online journal of my artwork related to activism. That initiative blossomed into a multitude of full-time opportunities to share my art for service orientated causes. One such result of this new focus was the idea for a series of celebratory portraits of women who had been touched by a charitable organization.

Art highlighting social and political leaders is abundant. However, the work of these social justice pioneers is rarely expressed through art portraying individuals they impacted. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to meet so many amazing people as a “painting activist,” and through this series I’m honored to introduce you to a handful of them.

With the generous help of many colleagues in our nonprofit community, I have been connected with the beautiful women in this series. Each has shared with me an intimate story, all with endings of positive and pivotal change aided by the services they received from their respective charitable organization.

These women have encouraged me, reminded me not to take life for granted, and reinforced that the most sacred aspects of life are the relationships we foster and nourish. I left every interview feeling that no obstacle in life was insurmountable and that my own seemingly unbearable problems were dwindled to petty inconveniences. I’m incredibly grateful to have crossed paths with and be touched by each of them.

Ashley Cecil

This project is made possible in part with funding from the Kentucky Foundation for Women.

Painting in progress, 8.25.08

Ashley Cecil — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 04:21:20 +0000

Gill, Brett, and Pip, it’s coming.

A phenomenally successful opening

Ashley Cecil — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 02:38:39 +0000

I decided that since I was going to be on my feet all night at last Friday’s ‘Women of Mass Construction‘ opening, that I wouldn’t go to the gallery until 5pm on the dot. I was about 5 minutes late and expected to be one of the first people there. It turns out I had already missed some gallery guests and was greeted by a full house. It felt like a surprise party. Between 5 and 9pm, I think there was one 10 minute span where fewer than 3 people were in my section of the gallery.

Many of the portrait subjects were there with friends, family and staff members from their respective nonprofit organization. I wish I had had more time to introduce them, but the steady flow of traffic made it pretty difficult. Nonetheless, I feel like the women really appreciated that so many people came to see the artwork about them and their stories. Thanks to those of you who came to support us!

Events like this always draw some of my favorite people, like my high school photography teacher, Mr. (Dave) Runge (who apparently biked to the gallery). I love being surprised by who I see at my art related events. It’s like Christmas with human gifts.

If you missed us on Friday, the show will be up through August at Gallery NuLu. A percentage of portrait sales will be donated to the Women’s Second Chance College Scholarship Fund. Donations to the scholarship fund will also be collected during the exhibit. Bring a friend and check it out.