Influenced by sources as varied as late 19th century Symbolist and Pre-Raphaelite painters, medieval tapestries and stained glass, Tarot cards, and the mysticism of 1960s California, LA-based artist Theodora Allen assembles her timeless subject matter into luminous arrangements with enigmatic meanings. In this work, a serpent curls within a moon, with the crescent shape slightly bulging in and out to follow the curves of the snake’s body. The celestial body floats above a dandelion, an edible plant seen most often as an unwanted weed. Allen’s methodical process consists of staining her linen canvas with thin layers of oil paint, throughout the process wiping away paint to reveal the gesso underneath the surface. “My painting process is slow and precise,” she says. “The light source in the work comes from the white ground (the gesso), so there’s a certain amount of preservation that takes place in order to maintain that purity and glow from underneath.”
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