Description
‘The Ghost Inside’ by Johannah O’Donnell
Artist: Johannah O’Donnell
Title: ‘The Ghost Inside’
Medium: Acrylic on cradled artboard
Dimensions: 24″ x 16″ x 2″
Framing: Unframed
Year of Creation: 2024
Artwork Will Ship From: USA
About the Artwork:
In December of last year, I had a very sudden and unexpected medical emergency – a fully detached retina in my left eye, which requires immediate intervention. My recovery from this surgery has been challenging, as the vision in that eye is now compromised. My brain is doing its best to sort out the changes, but I’ve been told it’s a long process.
I decided to take time off from painting to focus on rest and recovery. I also started going to therapy to help manage the grief and anxiety related to my changes in vision. During these sessions, I did visualization exercises, which is part of a practice called Internal Family Systems (IFS). Basically, with the guidance of a therapist, you visualize the different parts of your psyche, and how they guide your emotions and actions.
For The Ghost Inside, I wanted to create something that spoke to the journey I’ve been on for the last few months. This painting is a visual interpretation of the grief/sadness I’ve been dealing with lately. The eyes represent looking both inward and outward – they are also a fairly accurate illustration of what eyes often look like to me, as my vision doesn’t always line up properly. – Johannah O’Donnell
About the Artist:
(Artist Statement)
Johannah O’Donnell, a Florida native, grew up in Sarasota, where she graduated from Ringling College of Art and Design with a degree in Fine Art. She is currently a full-time painter/art instructor and has exhibited work in numerous shows around the country, including a solo show at Bold Hype Gallery in NYC and a two-person show with Rebecca Rose at Gauntlet Gallery in San Francisco. One of her paintings is on the cover of Lil Bub’s album, “Science & Magic”, and her work is also featured in “Lil Bub’s Lil Book”, “Lil Bub: The Earth Years”, “Bad Dads: Art Inspired by the Films of Wes Anderson”, and “#Cats the Meowvie”.