Self, Cultivated

(2025)


Medium:

Oil paint on canvas

Dimensions:

18" x 24"

Description

This painting is a self-portrait. It is how I know myself to be, not a costume or disguise, but something raw, exposed, and natural. My face is human, while my body takes the form of a tomato, a hybrid identity that reflects how I experience myself as visible, vulnerable, and shaped by forces beyond my control.  

My artist name, PomodoroGirl, came to me during my time living abroad in Italy, a period of challenge and deep self-reflection. Long before that, I was “pomodoro” as a child, my face flushing deep red when my name was called, embarrassment and shame made immediately visible. Vulnerability arrived without any warning, announced through color.
In the painting, the tomato remains connected to its vine. The vine represents nurture, but also the system that cultivates, guiding growth while imposing expectations of readiness, and usefulness. The figure exists in a moment of fullness, vibrant, soft, and exposed. It’s not unripe and not yet aged.

Red, perishable, and forgiving, the body becomes a portrait of identity as something grown rather than fixed, shaped by care, pressure, and time.