Cherub's Heaven
Emily Blair Quinn
Oil on Canvas
12 x 24 in
Emily Blair Quinn’s realistic oil portraits depict glistening, ghostly, and fractured female
figurines in enigmatic emotional states ranging from firey passion to silent panic. The
scale of the painting corresponds with the figure’s emotional state. Painting is an act of
meditation in which Quinn examines the complexity, mystery, and nuances of human
emotion and permits people to express themselves without judgment. Her process
begins with a treasure hunt for figurines that appear haunted, sad, pensive, sexual, or
otherwise easy to anthropomorphize. To elucidate for the viewer what she sees in the
figures, she arranges them in theatrically lit scenes, at times transforming them through
paint, wax, and resin, before photographing them and using them as the basis for her
paintings. She uses bright colors and dark humor to engage viewers, making her work
a catalyst for uncensored conversations about vulnerability, empathy, and connection.