Whispering Sisters 2007

Rose Freymuth-Frazier painted these "Whispering Sisters" with oils, building up tones of black to create this chiaroscuro effect. Imagine her applying layers, and then scraping them back, to make this. I wonder what she was thinking when she painted the handcuffs. What story is she trying to tell? Maybe they are trapped or maybe they are connected. Is she interested in female relationships, the way women confide in each other, or not? She’s clearly interested in the way black paint can conjure a mood. You know, black isn't just black—it’s a million different shades all at once. It’s about the way light hits a surface, how it’s absorbed, and how it reflects back at us. Like the whispers themselves, which are hard to grasp and gone in a moment. Painters across time have played with darkness—from Caravaggio’s dramatic shadows to Goya’s nightmarish visions. It's like a conversation, each artist responding to what came before, each pushing the boundaries of what paint can do. Like a painter’s game of telephone.