In Faces of Ithaca , I wanted to explore Ithaca's diversity, culture, and community through a series of portraits. The project was completed over a six-week period and was funded through Ithaca College's Summer Scholars program. I began by traveling around the area, taking my own reference photos, and meeting the people I'd set up to paint. Throughout the painting process, I used a mix of loose brushwork and highly finished areas, to highlight the unique qualities of each individual. It was very important to me that the portraits not be generic, and that they accurately represent the person I was seeing and relating to.
Audrey McMahon
Faces of Ithaca
Audrey McMahon in the studio.
Audrey McMahon is a New Jersey and New York based painter working in oil, and watercolor, amongst other mediums. Her artwork is most significantly representational - consisting of realist portraits and symbolic works. Audrey relies heavily on color and metaphor to explore identity, connection, and care within the queer and feminist worlds.
Her work is influenced by queer and feminist thought. She is currently studying Art and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Ithaca College, where she’s able to merge her creative and academic skills. Both in and out of the classroom, Audrey sees art as an extension of community and self-expression.
Audrey McMahon in the studio with her Summer Scholars Mentor Amber Lia Kloppel.
Each Summer Ithaca College invites students to apply for the prestigious Summer Scholars Program. Scholars are paid to engage in their projects full-time, developing key professional skills that they can build on in their future studies and career. This highly competitive experience is a summer residential program that gives students in all Humanities and Sciences disciplines the opportunity to work alongside dedicated faculty mentors to collaborate on mutually-enriching projects over the course of 8 weeks in the summer.
