Love Like Water

"Love Like Water"
2013 Amanda Christine Shelton
paper,acrylic,watercolor,ink on canvas, 18x24inches

I have been wanting to make art that explores the rain, water, and also a little bit on drought climate in Oklahoma. As we have had tornadoes recently with storms and flooding this has been an even more interesting journey for me. The work is based off of a photo I took in a park here when a light spring rain was falling on statues; it uses round cuts of paper that have been washed with watercolor and metallic gold acrylic assembled with pieces of the public transcript to a U.S. Supreme Court case dealing with my state's water issues and an agreement we have called the Red River Compact- it was drawn up between four states to divide that river's water in times of need and surplus. The large piece of text in the top right is from "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Robert Heinlein, the first instance of "water sharing" in the novel is on the page. The title and top left text are references to a song from my teens/1994 by Live.

(detail shot)

"...our love is like water
pinned down and abused for being strange..."

I have heard it said more than once that rain is an aphrodisiac by those who claim it. (I take the 5th Amendment as to whether I agree) Water is one of the simplest and truly abused substances on the planet, in a number of ways, regardless of opinions about 90s music. 

This piece was one of the pieces created for hanging at Discernible Discourse at Mainsite Contemporary Art in Norman, OK June 14th-July13th- everything is still up to final curation by guest curator Krystle Brewer but I have seen some of the other work and it is amazing - I hope to see you on the Second Friday Art Walk!