Charica Daugherty

I create oil portraits of female forms as an expression of liberty and personal identity. This freedom comes from a spiritual journey of new found love and acceptance from my Creator which has directly impacted my well being as a woman. I feel freedom from years of experiencing shame in regards to self expression. I first presented this theme in my series entitled Beloved. I am currently developing more pieces that continue to build upon this theme. 

My more recent bodies of work, Feminine Energy and Sacred Art both feature nude and partial nude female forms. I like to emphasize stomach folds and curves. I see fleshiness especially in the abdomen area and hips as very visually beautiful. I like to stylize the breast to reflect an almost geometrical shape. It brings a further distinction to the shape and balance to the otherwise more organic lines. 

Another conceptual aspect of my art is my racial heritage. I am a black biracial woman with a bachelors in history and a love for western civilization. I enjoy creating historically based portraits of black women and children from varying eras of western civilization. It brings me joy to dismantle stereotypes of black and national identity. I first reflected this in my series Black Victorians.  I am presently developing a body of work called The Heritage Collection which features mothers and their young during the Reconstruction era in addition to a portrait of Sarah Forbes Bonetta and other historically based portraits of black women.

In my process of creating a portrait, I always begin with an underpainting in a pigment called burnt sienna. My under paintings are monochromatic drawings which feature a full rendering of the portrait before the addition of other colors. This burnt sienna color has an awakening effect. While I usually build layers of color to create a completed painting in full color, there are times I love the monochromatic version so much I decide to keep it at the stage. I also enjoy featuring the underpainting by allowing the drawing lines to remain visible even in the finished phase. I feel the lines create movement and balance. It’s something I find calming to the eye. 

I sign my work with three red blotches in the corner of my work. It represents my faith in the Trinity and the shed blood of Jesus Christ. I consider all of my artwork sacred. It is my way to share my journey as a woman and hopefully inspire women to experience an inner permission to enjoy their femininity without shame.