Artist Uses Watercolors to Spotlight Black Femininity

23 stunning paintings challenge mainstream perceptions in artist Debra Cartwright's new solo show, 'Made in Her Image.'

by Antwaun Sargent

August 13, 2015, 3:00pm

Breathe, Images courtesy of Debra Cartwright

Using watercolors, artist Debra Cartwright has created portraits for her solo show, Made in Her Image, that show fantastical representations of the black female form. “I wanted to create a safe space, an illustrated world, where black women were free from the strong angry trope still prevalent,” Cartwright tells The Creators Project.

The 23 paintings apart of the show feel like fashion illustrations. The poses of the women are whimsical, highlighting a playful side of black women that reworks mainstream notions associated with black femininity. “I think lustful images, images of exhaling, letting go, just breathing really align with my message,” Cartwright says. “Where they could be just as feminine, light, flowing, carefree, desirable, as any other woman. We aren't always upset or fighting, of course, and I think we need this portraiture to celebrate our less highlighted sides.”

The figures painted by Cartwright are represented in a myriad of skin tones and shapes. “Influences like these may seem micro but they do add up and have a major impact on how women of color, especially black women, see our worth as it stacks up to mainstream,” she explains.

“I want black women to feel free from the burden of being strong and able to just be beautiful and vulnerable, reveling in the essence of femininity.”