Lezley Saar

I am a mixed media painter who does portraits of people outside the norm whether it be with regard to race, gender, sexuality, or sanity. These portraits are a personification of an idea, theme or contemporary social/political issue. The inspiration for these themes come from personal experience, history and literature. Being biracial, I naturally use mixed materials and juxtapositions of surreal and symbolic imagery. My painting is in the 18th and 19th Century colonial style, which echoes my mixed heritage. I often set my subjects in a 19th century past for a transporting and time traveling effect, as well as a nod to my ancestors.