Amanda Greavette is a painter living in Ontario. Fascinated by the process of birth, she creates impressive paintings representing pregnant women or those about to give birth.
“The Birth Project” is a series of life-size figurative paintings representing pregnant women or women who have just given birth. The origin of this beautiful project is the painter Amanda Greavette (www.amandagreavette.com). The artist, a mother of five children, drew on her own experience to paint these impressive paintings.
“I like to explore the human body, paint its intrinsic beauty, and capture a personality,” she explains. “My images are sometimes shocking because they realistically represent women giving birth. But I think it’s necessary to bring emotion and depth to my paintings. I hope the viewer can pause to consider these images and what they may mean to them, given their own story.”
Greavette has given birth five times – twice in a hospital, three times at home, once with a doctor, and four times with midwives. The mom has given birth on the floor, on beds and in water. “All of my births were very positive experiences,” she said, adding, “I really cherish the process and love how exciting and powerful it is.”
For the series, Amanda Greavette relied on photos from various sources. “My own births and births that I was able to attend and photograph. Finally, women I had never met contacted me via the site to participate in the project.”
Though she’s been working on the series since 2007, the painter said she’s seen a positive shift in how people respond to the birth-related art. Her paintings have appeared in birthing centers and have been used for childbirth preparation as tools for visualization and meditation.
“Our bodies are so strong, so incredible, and beautiful even with flaws and scars and weaknesses,” Greavette said. “Many birth stories have a lot of pain, sadness, disappointment, or guilt in them, and I want to provide a space with my work to sit with these things as well.”
“The response I hear from my audience is that these resonate in a unique way, and that women everywhere have births that are amazing, empowering, and very meaningful,” she continued. “They want to see it, talk about it, and have it recognized and validated.” That certainly occurs in this bold artwork.
