An Inspiring Commissioned Painting & Interview
I framed and placed my painting in my room, and it gave it a new life. It was now changed. This was the room of someone who chose she deserved better. Someone who would not wait to have the perfect body to get everything she wants.
"I was art". A story of rebirth.
The first time I saw an Elisa Valenti painting was on an Instagram post some one had shared, I was in awe of how beautiful a body like mine was represented.
I immediately started following her work and I learned a bit more about her, her inspiration, and her dedication to represent all bodies in her work. It made me an immediate fan.
“ I kept waiting to have the “perfect body”, in reality, what I needed was someone who would represent my body perfectly.”
I myself have been in a journey of self acceptance after years, decades really, of struggling with body image and disordered eating. Looking at the beautiful work of Elisa helped tremendously. It encouraged me to commission a portrait for myself. This was something I had been wanting to do for years but that I had never done because I kept waiting to have the “perfect body”, in reality, what I needed was someone who would represent my body perfectly.
The process of this was beautiful. I reached out to Elisa and we talked about her own journey to self acceptance, her work, her mother, her life. I immediately found a connection with her. Her story was so similar to mine. In our conversation it felt like I had found a friend who knew exactly how I felt, and who knew how delicate this dance of self acceptance is. This made me very confident to trust my image to her. I knew she was going to honor my experience, and not alter my image in ways that would further damage my dysmorphia. That I could trust my curves, my flesh, my folds and my very unique beauty will be represented truly in the portrait.
“ I could trust my curves, my flesh, my folds and my very unique beauty will be represented truly in the portrait.”
The day I decided to pose for my painting was a whole process, I wanted something that represented me, so I picked all my plants and set them up around me. I tried different poses, moved my body and just tried poses that would show it’s real dimension, instead of finding ways to hide it. I embraced how my body moved, how it folded, how created shapes that were so beautiful. It was an incredible exercise in self love. I looked at a few outtakes of my “modeling” session and picked a few poses I loved and sent to Elisa for her professional opinion as to which one to pick. Together we decided on one and she took it from there. The anticipation began.
We had timed it so that my painting would arrive close to my birthday. So I could have my beautiful painting ready to reveal in a birthday party I was planning (sadly covid didn’t permit for that). When my painting arrived, I was nervous. I didn’t know what to expect, how I was gonna feel, if I was gonna hate or love the way my body looked. When I opened the box and I saw my body look so beautiful I was in awe. I was art.
“ I didn’t know what to expect, how I was gonna feel, if I was gonna hate or love the way my body looked. When I opened the box and I saw my body look so beautiful I was in awe.”
”I was art.”
Rebirth of Maria, 22” x 30”, acrylic on Arches French Cotton Paper, 2020.
The one thing I always felt I could never be because no one would find me beautiful enough to depict in a painting. Every curve of my body, every shade of my skin was there. Just as it is. Incredibly beautiful to put in words. The painting is so voluptuous and soft, it’s like you can almost touch it, like you can almost feel my skin just by looking at it. I’m extremely in love with it, and it makes me feel extremely in love with myself.
“Every curve of my body, every shade of my skin was there. Just as it is.”
I framed and placed my painting in my room, and it gave it a new life. It was now changed. This was the room of someone who chose she deserved better. Someone who would not wait to have the perfect body to get everything she wants. It encouraged me to upgrade my life in so many ways. To live the life I deserve and that I have worked so hard to earn. Receiving this painting was a pivoting point in my journey. I was ready to live a different life and this was physical reminder of it.
I placed it across from my bed, and now the first thing I see in the morning and the last I see at night is this beautiful image of myself. In all its glory. It’s a constant reminder that I am beautiful, that my body is a work of art.
“I highly recommend anyone who’s been wanting to do a portrait of themselves to reach out to Elisa. Know that your image, your story, will be handled with care and love. You will be depicted in a way that’s will make you fall back in love with yourself, over and over again.”
Maria Del Carmen Vidal @miss_vidal
If you’ve considered a commissioned painting but didn’t know what steps to take, email me. I’d be thrilled to discuss the process with you. Contact info@elisavalentistudio.com