Painted idols

The women in the paintings

Fourteen women, each of them looked at for three seconds at a time, thousands of times a day. That is where these paintings start: a photograph they published themselves, saved without knowing why, painted months later — and then hanging on a wall for years.

Each page holds the canvases of one subject, and what the weeks of painting made visible that the photograph did not.

14 women ▪ each one approached before she was painted

Dailey Danique Dailey Danique Publishes as@daileydanique In the series2 works Photographcredited Dailey is one of the few women in this series I have actually stood in front of. Dakota James Dakota James Publishes as@dakota.james In the series1 work Photographcredited There is a detail in her face that I saw before I saw anything else, and for a while it was the only thing I could see. Dana Hamm Dana Hamm Publishes as@danahammofficial In the series1 work Photographcredited One of the first ones. Dutch Deelee Dutch Deelee Publishes as@dutchdeelee In the series4 works Photographcredited Deelee (Black Straps) started with the pose, and then with the way the whole thing sat in the frame. Elisa Brandani Elisa Brandani Publishes as@elisa.brandani In the series2 works Photographcredited There is a combination in this image that ought to be unpleasant and somehow is not. Katrina Moreno Katrina Moreno Publishes as@katrinamorenooficial In the series2 works Photographcredited Shot from below, which makes her taller than you whether you like it or not. Kayleigh Swenson Kayleigh Swenson Publishes as@vikingbarbie In the series6 works Photographcredited Four canvases came out of one archive folder, and not one of them was planned as part of a set. Kindly Myers Kindly Myers Publishes as@kindly In the series1 work Photographcredited Almost every image I save is aimed outward. Lindsey Pelas Lindsey Pelas Publishes as@lindseypelas In the series2 works Photographcredited Two canvases, and they work against each other. Marisol Yotta Marisol Yotta Publishes as@marisolfeelsgood In the series1 work Photographcredited There is a child's gesture in this picture and nothing else about it is childlike. Natalee Natalee Publishes as@007natalee In the series2 works Photographcredited Two canvases, the same pose, the same woman, the same moment. Pandora Kaaki Pandora Kaaki Publishes as@pandorakaaki In the series2 works Photographcredited Nothing in her face asks for anything. Riae Suicide Riae Suicide Publishes as@riae_ In the series4 works Photographcredited I scrolled past her and went back. Veronika Rayek Veronika Rayek Publishes as@veronikarajek In the series2 works Photographcredited There are two things in Veronika (American Girl) that were not in the photograph.

Every woman on this page was written to about the painting she appears in. Some replied, others never did — so this is an attempt to inform rather than a claim that everyone knows, and it is not consent. Nothing was done quietly: the message goes out as soon as a canvas exists.

1 Would you rather not be named here? Write to the studio and the page comes down. Contact

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