Wrapped Up in a False Sense of Security
Kirsten Beitler
oil on panel, 18 x 18 inches
Collection of the artist.
Made possible by a grant from the Center for Latter-day Saint Arts, Art for Uncertain Times.
As an “essential employee” at a local grocery store,
I have been on the economic front lines of the recent grocery buying frenzy and all the many emotions surrounding it. As a single, divorced mom of four who was in the middle of the house buying process, had just started trying to date again, and works supporting women who have experienced betrayal trauma in their marriages, I have been personally in the line of fire on the emotional front lines of this upset in our known normal and its effects on all levels of health.
As a single, divorced mom of four who was in the middle of the house buying process, had just started trying to date again, and works supporting women who have experienced betrayal trauma in their marriages, I have been personally in the line of fire on the emotional front lines of this upset in our known normal and its effects on all levels of health.
In my art I tap into the shared human experiences that people often don't wish to speak of with humor and compassion hoping to open a dialogue that helps the viewer feel not so alone. I do this mainly through the art of self- portraiture.
In this painting (Wrapped Up In A False Sense Of Security, Oil on panel, 18" x 18") the figure is pressed up against the boundaries of her isolation, her only means of connection is also the thing that can hurt her the most as it fills her with fear-driven media and caters to her vices. She feels safe and superior with her supply of toilet paper, but, sadly, toilet paper is a flimsy, breakable clothing which provides little protection against things that can't be controlled. —Kirsten Beitler, 2020
Kirsten Holt Beitler
is an artist, teacher, florist, writer, and single mom of four boys, not necessarily in that order, depending on the day. A Southern Utah native, Kirsten has been teaching art to children and adults for 15 years, and until recently, owned and operated The Drawing Room Studio. She now makes hand painted chalk art signs for Harmon’s Grocery and moonlights as a symbolic contemporary realist who uses watercolor, oil, and mixed media to create introspective and vulnerable portrait and figurative work of people and animals that explore the wounds, beauties, and humor that make up life here on this earth.
Kirsten has shown work in several galleries and publications including The Sears Gallery, The Springville Museum of Art, The Braithwaite Gallery, St. George Art Museum, Anthony’s Fine Art and Antiques, Bountiful Davis Arts Center, The DiFiore Center, Elan Magazine, The Exponent II, and The Mormon Women’s Project, and are featured in private collections across the United States and Europe. Her visual work and written ramblings can be found on her website www.kirstenbeitler.com or @kirstenbeitler.