Interpretation

Walk with us into Antoinette’s studio. Her easel and chair are positioned to maximize the early afternoon light. You’ll notice her many boxes of pastels and pencils, arranged by color family. There is a peaceful quality to the environment and you feel as if you’re in your own home. At the same time, coming in for the first time you may feel a nervous anticipation as the layers are about to be peeled away.

You have a moment of anxiety when you might feel that you are about to confront your own Dorian Gray image. That is not what happens. What is exposed is not only a portrait of what is, but of what might be, a portrait of hope, of endless possibilities. When the drawing is complete, Antoinette’s excitement is palpable because her connection to you is so strong.

For Antoinette it’s like seeing the portrait for the first time, discovering shapes and suggestions that are just occurring to her at that moment. Symbolic images: a burning flame, a crocodile swimming in a watery inlet. Tree branches overhead become a pattern of life experiences.

Images, so varied and complex, invite the viewer to look within and note what springs up that connects with some recognition, previously only dimly seen. Colors are symbolic, images are metaphors. Male and female identities are mingled and blurred. Spirit guides are unveiled. An exploration into realms, not a part of everyday life, occurs.

You’ll find repeated areas of white space, the use of water in all its forms, predominance of certain colors. In the inner portraits color does not have a universal legend for each, but is based upon the healing energy of the color as it expresses the mood and contributes to the environment of the person.