Female Gladiator
Paper, charcoal, soft chalk pastel, tape
101” x 56”
When tasked with the challenge of creating a piece that spanned from the ceiling to the floor, my first thoughts were about larger-than-life figures. Not just figures who are enormous in size, but are depicted as super-human or possess abilities that surpass the ordinary human. The kind of figures you read about in fictional books or tall-tales. One of the biggest inspirations in my work is strong, powerful women, like wrestlers, dancers, or warriors. With the female gladiator in this piece I sought to illustrate the over exaggerated, blood-thirsty Roman gladiator and the overlooked existence of female warriors in ancient Rome.
I began by taking photos of myself with a dowel to use as references. Then I taped two sheets of paper on a wall and started creating a rough, charcoal sketch of my chosen pose. My goal with the sketch was to be loose, gritty, and messy while still showing movement and action. Once the black charcoal portion of the piece was completed I went in with a red soft chalk pastel. The red illustrates the bloodshed of the gladiator's victims as well as the iconic, red gladiator skirts of ancient Rome.
Although she is quite an intimidating woman, it is fun to stand next to the piece and pretend to be attacked.
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