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A surreal figurative painting of a woman in a black dress with dragonflies around her on a black background. The woman has blonde hair, blue eyes, and pale skin, with one hand near her face and another near her leg.
A close-up detail of a painted portrait of a woman with short light brown hair, blue eyes, and a small dragonfly flying over her hair, against a dark background with another dragonfly near the lower right. Artist Kelly Borsheim holds the copyright.
A large black canvas painting displayed on a table in an art studio, featuring a surreal figure with detached limbs, a face with purple eyes and blonde hair, and five flying dragonflies. Red text at the bottom reads 'Before Final Touches and Glazes "Signs from Above" by Kelly Borsheim, 2026'.
  • Load image into Gallery viewer, A surreal figurative painting of a woman in a black dress with dragonflies around her on a black background. The woman has blonde hair, blue eyes, and pale skin, with one hand near her face and another near her leg.
  • Load image into Gallery viewer, A close-up detail of a painted portrait of a woman with short light brown hair, blue eyes, and a small dragonfly flying over her hair, against a dark background with another dragonfly near the lower right. Artist Kelly Borsheim holds the copyright.
  • Load image into Gallery viewer, A large black canvas painting displayed on a table in an art studio, featuring a surreal figure with detached limbs, a face with purple eyes and blonde hair, and five flying dragonflies. Red text at the bottom reads 'Before Final Touches and Glazes "Signs from Above" by Kelly Borsheim, 2026'.

Signs from Above ~ Woman with Dragonflies Painting

$2,800.00
$2,800.00
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  • 27 h x 23 inches
  • Oil on linen
  • Unframed, but the canvas is painted on the sides
  • Signed with name on lower right corner
  • copyright 2008-2026 Kelly Borsheim
  • Ships from Norfolk, Virginia US

Signs from Above ~ Original Oil Painting

     

     Many years ago, I had worked with a couple of lovely belly dancers in a life drawing session.  I asked one, Julie, to pose privately for me, as I wanted to create artwork that other artists around me would not have anything similar.  

     We worked in a dark room with dramatic lighting because my curiosity led me to wonder what if the female body was draped in such a way that her limbs seemed to extend in a surreal way.

     I kept the resulting painting with me, even as my life and home changed.  I had not yet imagined what else the composition needed.  Of course, she could have ended up many different ways, but in recent years, I have been looking for a way to add some dragonflies to one of my paintings.

    I did a fair amount of research to decide how many dragonflies I wanted:  I mean specific numbers due to their implications.  I then had to decide where to place my five chosen pilots.  Naturally, I wanted them to give the impression that they were intentionally circling Julie.  Because the background was so dark (a mixture of burnt umber and a black), I painted the shapes of the dragonflies in a mostly solid white and let that sit for weeks as I worked on other things.  That is what you see in this detail image below.

detail of a painting of a blonde woman looking up and the white underpainted forms of dragonflies swirling above her head awaits color.

     I also adjusted slightly where her eyes were looking.  Engagement only happens when BOTH parties participate, no?

 

     This next image shows that I had turned the painting upside down and left her leaning against my wood-burning stove (in summer) after having painted the bottom of the linen canvas.  She got plenty of time to dry!  But in the meantime, my neighbor Riccardo earned a new puppy to keep his much older dog Yoda and his cat Ettore company.  Her name is Pimpa and she loves to hang out with me, too.  However, poor Yoda is so patient with her childish energy.  She loves to nip his heals, his ears, and often climbs up on his back as he lies on the floor in my kitchen.  Yoda hates that, but maybe he remembers his own youth and the need to chew.  Pimpa has destroyed too many of my plants as she loves to dig into the vases and then steal them for chewing.  oy!  

a puppy looks up at the artist of the upside down oil painting drying behind her.

     I finished the painting and rolled her up in a tube for my trip and exhibit in Norfolk, Virginia (US), in 2026.  I hope you enjoy this mysterious conversation between a woman and five dragonflies.

 

     If interested in some of the process to create this painting, see these short videos as I share my self-critiques, considerations, and general thoughts about this painting.          


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJZcyqA_0R0&t=4s

and 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6Yc522zJ4g

  

     Enjoy,  And contact the studio if you would like to know more about this or any other artwork.
   

~Kelly Borsheim



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