~Those Cousins~
At The Family Gathering

Medium:
Oil, Glitter, Beadwork, and Embroidery on Canvas

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Dimensions:
20" x 16"x 1.25"

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Artwork for Sale:
Yes

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Year Completed:
2025

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Description:

This painting began while hiking down the Chaîne des Puys volcano range in France, where a quiet scene of grazing sheep sparked a reflection on belonging and difference. The image evolved into a symbolic portrait of kinship among outsiders—a rainbow sheep and a black goat (a nod to Black Philip from The VVitch) dancing together amid a field of unbothered white sheep. Both figures embody the “black sheep” archetype, representing queerness, witchiness, and the joy of finding one’s kindred spirit among the so-called normies.

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At their feet, the pair dance upon weed leaves, a subtle yet playful reference to the familiar meme of cousins sneaking off for a “walk” before family dinner—a gesture that weaves humor, cultural familiarity, and the deeper bonds of chosen family and self-acceptance. The rainbow sheep is embroidered by hand...a nod to traditional “women’s work” and the quiet power of queer and gay womxn who have long held up communities through care, creativity, and resilience. The beadwork and sparkles adorning the black goat celebrate the whimsy and mystery of those often labeled as scapegoats, reclaiming that role as one of strength and magic.

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In this imagined pasture, difference becomes connection, and what once marked us as “other” transforms into a dance of freedom, defiance, and joy.