I was inspired by the artists who used children and child-like images to convey their message to the viewer. I was particularly impressed with Ron English’s painting, Combat Rising. He used the image of a child in his painting to make a statement about our society I was also influenced by the work of Mark Ryden who used images of children to express deep meaning in his work.
In my painting, Oh, Baby, I have chosen a doll as an image to make a statement about the abuse and exploitation of children. I read an article a number of years ago about workers at a refuse and recycling plant who found the body of an abandoned baby while sorting the trash. The child’s body was headed toward the shredder when one of the workers spotted the child. She said it looked like a doll.
After reading that article, discarded dolls from the Thrift store have become an allegorical subject in my paintings. They are used to portray moral and political issues dealing with children.