Ali Cavanaugh
It is undeniable that, within every glimpse, an Ali Cavanaugh illustration holds a watchful and curious eye. Binding is the intrigue one feels, a particular mix of enticement and magnetic curiosity. There is movement in each apathetic image, there’s someone real and truly existent behind every portrait. And what comes next may elucidate this previous idea.
Cavanaugh’s compositions are strong and intuitive, proving wonders of her watercolor technique, neo fresco secco. Small controlled strokes of overlapping colors over plaster panels create depth, while letting the white clay surface illuminate through the pigment. And while her paintings are enthrallingly realistic, looking close enough, brush strokes can be seen, which creates a slight texture.
Even though much is due to talent, Ali’s art is not all about brushing techniques. Her life experiences made her the virtuoso she is today and the painter’s clingingness to the visual world began when she lost much of her hearing through spinal meningitis, in the early years of her life. Embracing the loss, Ali became sensitive to the people who surrounded her, she became deeply conscious of the unspoken language, revealed through compositions of the human body. The image of a young female figure reaches into a part of the artist’s past; her daughter and nieces help create the visual framework for an entry point into those memories.
Unapologetically encouraged by the human figure in two distinct aspects, body and soul, that is exactly what she means to portray. And, correct me if i’m wrong, that is exactly what she achieves. An aura is felt and a sentiment is captured looking at an Ali Cavanaugh’s illustration; her art brings to light the complexity within contemplation. Poetic, nostalgic, yet joyful.
“I’m constantly in a state of awareness about the world; taking in the imagery, colors, and patterns that to my eye are compositions of settings and people. This keeps me in a place where my perception is enriched by each and every moment.”
