Uvi Poznansky: I try to avoid looking at her body—but still, I can see the ticklish point under her chin

Monday, September 1, 2014

I try to avoid looking at her body—but still, I can see the ticklish point under her chin

"The conversation drags on in the background. Meanwhile, I bend over Anita to check her pulse. I place a wet towel over her feverish forehead, and unbutton her shirt, to make sure she can breathe with no obstructions.

I try to avoid looking at her body—but still, I can see the ticklish point under her chin, and the long line of her neck, which is plunging into the collar, and the jugular vein fluttering there, and the nipple, half of which is peeking out from the shadow, down there under the opening of the shirt.

Her ribcage starts flaring up now with rapid, disorderly breathing, as if to escape a nightmare. This, I figure, is something she must face alone."

I painted this watercolor with yellows and greens that I rarely used before, because I wished to give this figure a glow. Her fleshiness is accentuated with the perspective I chose, looking up at her from a vantage point at the level of her knees. I named her 'Butterfly' because despite being heavy, she has a twisting, swinging motion across the paper.