#movementstudy

Alla Prima Study of a Bear in Motion, 16x20 inches oil on canvas panel by Kenney Mencher https://www.kenneymencher.com/shop/p/alla-prima-study-of-a-bear-in-motion-16x20-inches-oil-on-canvas-panel-by-kenney-mencher

For years I had trouble accepting my body as I aged. So I began to paint people who looked more like me and I realized I wasn’t alone when I discovered other bears and the concepts behind “body positivity.”

This painting is based in the tenets of the “body positivity” movement. Body positivity refers to the assertion that all people deserve to have a positive body image, regardless of how society and popular culture view ideal shape, size, and appearance.

Some of the goals of the body positivity movement include:

Challenging how society views the body

Promoting the acceptance of all bodies

Helping people build confidence and acceptance of their own bodies

Addressing unrealistic body standards

This painting was made using the alla prima method.

 // Girl sitting at table in Mocha’s //

Knees crossed lightly/parallel 

Shoulders hunched, downward gaze into phone, arms lightly resting against the table and body as she texts

Putts phone down and slouches body over table to begin writing in notebook meticulously, as if working on a detailed journal or math problem. 

Her body crevasses the table, almost touching it from all three angles with her crossed legs making a 90 degree angle.

She writes off and on, staring at the page intently. 

She checks her phone, reading the notification. 

Overcoming the urge to respond to whatever came in, she looks back at the thin notebook. 

Staring staring staring

the focus focus focus turns to blank stares 

her body appears almost frozen and stays put for a solid minute before she jolts her head, flickering her eyes and refocusing her brain.