She said, "I was sitting on the couch watching dust particles float around in the light coming through the window and the idea came to me. I'm interested in the fact that the older we get, the more dust we create - it is made up of 70 per cent dead skin. I enjoy painting people and thought dust would be the perfect material to represent them in their own environment."
"For these portraits, I photograph the subject in their home. Then over a period of months I collect the dust from their home via their vacuum bags."
"Dust arrives in our homes as a remnant of our own existence and degeneration from decaying particles from our bodies and objects. The painting is completed by rendering the subject in a realistic manner with oil paints and the rest of their environment is made solely out of the dust from their home, which I sprinkle on the canvas and manipulate with a brush. When finished the dust is coated with an acrylic sealer."
She sprays the painting with a sealant so it permanently sets and does not cause problems for allergy sufferers.
It took around a week or two (depending on the size) to finish a painting.
"There aren't any special tools I use, except a fine mesh strainer I bought from a cooking store to sift out the dust".
Check her website: http://www.allisoncortson.com/index.html
Images taken from here
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