SUNSET OF OUR RIGHTS

by Mel Ohlinger

This painting is an alla prima (wet-on-wet), impasto-style oil painting on stretched canvas. To create depth and texture, I used a range of mediums: cold wax medium in the clouds to build volume, galkyd gel mixed with gold paint for translucent highlights in the upper layers, and impasto liquin throughout to extend the paint, prevent leveling, and speed drying time.

The imagery draws on familiar U.S. symbols to reflect on the recent end of reproductive rights and the restrictions placed on healthcare for pregnant people. The corn represents women, family, and fertility. The sunset symbolizes the end of Roe v. Wade and the loss of federal protections for healthcare, privacy, and choice. A storm cloud conveys the chaos, trauma, depression, and desperation experienced by pregnant people seeking affordable, accessible care.

The tilled land without a cover crop points to devastation on the scale of the Dust Bowl, brought about by harmful legislation. The clouds nearly touching in the center reference Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam, but here they move apart, suggesting that the spark of life will never pass—symbolizing a decision made without humanity. The perspective places the viewer in the role of witness, present at human rights violations yet failing to act to protect the lives and freedoms of pregnant people.

As I painted, I wrestled with the realization that while I could defend my country, I could not defend my own body. This work is my response to the painful truth that I do not share the same rights and freedoms as male citizens.