Kelli Barker Body Art and Make Up and Lin Barrie Art in a collaboration, beating Covid!!

The inspiration behind this collaboration between myself and Kelli, for a photoshoot with Daxion Photography started with my acrylic painting called “Energy”…

My original acrylic painting celebrates colour and movement, mark-making …it celebrates the positive energy we can generate in our everyday human interactions…..to overcome the negative fears of Covid na disease that the whole world has faced in this year of 2020….

Here I start painting Kelli in the same style as my “energy” paintings…

the challenge of painting on a 3D surface pleases me…

Furthering the theme, this series of photos portrays gestures of friendship in these challenging times…. our Zimbabwean Tsonga tradition of greeting, “hand on heart”, versus the western style “handshake”…

here are my initial charcoal sketches…

The Hlengwe people of south east zimbabwe (northern Tsonga region towards the Limpopo River)  use hand clapping as a form of friendship greeting and thanks…plus a gesture of Hand on Heart….
The hand on heart greeting is called Kusheweta.

and so Kelli’s pose, here professionally photographed by Daxion Photography, reflects the Hand on Heart gesture to convey social connection, trust and friendship in these difficult “covid” times…

Hand on Heart, eyes wide open to the possibilities of human friendship and trust….

Eyes shut….trusting….

The stunning black and white version of the Daxion photographs…

The trust implicit in shut eyes is palpable….

my favourite image….

For some of my art prints on canvas please go to my blog Hand Energy, Colour, Inkjet print on canvas, limited edition, 12 x 12 inches
Hand Energy, Mono, Inkjet print on canvas, limited edition, 12 x 12 inches
Hands Laid On, Inkjet print on canvas, limited edition, 12 x 12 inches
Refrain, Inkjet print on canvas, limited edition, 12 x 12 inches
Speak No Evil, Mono, Inkjet print on canvas, limited edition, 12 x 12 inches
Think Before You Speak, Colour, Inkjet print on canvas, limited edition, 12 x 12 inches
Original painting “Energy”
Original Painting “Autumn”