Animal People

These are paintings of Miranda’s friends as they see themselves. For instance, "Goat with Toys" is a self-portrait. She was born in the Year of the Goat, and in the painting, she holds toys that she has had since her childhood. She also sees herself as a raven, a bird whose symbols are about being sentinels of the door between this life and the one beyond. Miranda has spent a good deal of her adult life caring for people who are transitioning out of this life.  In Northern New Mexico, ravens live in great numbers, and some come and visit her regularly.

In preparation for a portrait, she asked a friend what animal he wanted her to paint him as.  He replied, “Oh Miranda!  You know that I am a Coyote.” She found that most of her subjects have strong ideas of what animal they feel represents them.  This form of portraiture has been around for hundreds of years.  It’s an odd one that some people have issues with – the anthropomorphizing of animals, but for Miranda, these portraits are sweet portrayals of the subjects’ personalities.