Peace | Original Large-Scale Mixed Media Painting (Acrylic & Graphite)

Framed Exhibition Artwork by Amy Bridges

Graduating Solo Exhibition Work • One of a Kind • Ready to Hang

Peace is an original large-scale mixed media painting by Amy Bridges, created as part of a graduating solo exhibition exploring the historical progression and modern evolution of dance through figurative movement studies.

Within this series, each large-scale work represents a different stage in the development of dance traditions over time. Peace represents the contemporary, modern-day expression of belly dance, capturing how the movement exists in present-day performance through costume, energy, and abstraction.

Composition & Process

This piece depicts a full-figure belly dancer captured mid-performance, constructed through a combination of graphite drawing and acrylic painting on paper.

The background is built from sweeping gestural motion using a large house painting brush. Black acrylic paint is swirled across the entire surface in circular, textured movements, creating an abstract field of energy that reinforces motion throughout the composition.

Within this environment, the dancer is rendered in highly detailed graphite. Anatomical structure is emphasized through careful rendering of musculature, particularly across the torso and abdomen, where physical engagement and movement are intensified to reflect the dynamics of the pose.

The costume is painted in acrylic and consists of a bra-style top and a layered, flowing skirt made of multiple overlapping fabric forms. The folds of the fabric are intentionally exaggerated beyond naturalistic draping to heighten rhythm, movement, and visual flow.

Reds and purples dominate the costume palette, creating contrast against the monochromatic background and reinforcing the energy and presence of live performance.

Artwork Details

• Original mixed media painting (acrylic & graphite)

• Large-scale composition

• Framed exhibition work

• Custom handmade frame

• No glazing due to scale

• Wired and ready to hang

• One of a kind

• Graduating solo exhibition piece

Series Context

Peace is part of a curated academic exhibition series exploring the historical progression of dance movement.

Earlier works in the series examined traditional and foundational forms of movement, while this piece represents the modern-day evolution of belly dance as a living performance art.

Together, the series functions as a visual study of how movement, culture, and physical expression transform over time while retaining structural and emotional continuity.