PARTING THE MISTS
The inspiration for the series, Parting the Mists, comes from strong, empowered women whose inspiring and transformational backstories have often been overshadowed by their superficial appearance.
Ainslie believes that as an artist, it’s his responsibility to bring out the essence of a person’s character. “It’s not my job as a painter to simply represent reality, but to take the viewer on a journey into the soul of each subject.”
Parting the Mists reveals deeper truths about beauty, power, and femininity.
INDIA ARIE: “When I think about the cause I'm most passionate about, it's all in my music all the time, because I'm always singing about the empowerment of women. Always, even when it's a little love song - it's still about the empowerment of women and this high spiritual nature of love. It's the biggest healer ever.” ~India Arie.”
THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN: “There is no such thing as a person that nothing has happened to, and each person’s story is as different as his fingertips.” ~Elsa Lanchester
CHRISTINE LOVE: “Nobody has ever measured, not even poets, how much the heart can hold.” ~Zelda Fitzgerald
ANGELA DAVIS: A vocal opponent of the prison-industrial complex, racism, and inequality, and a champion of women’s rights, gender equality, and justice. “I’m no longer accepting the things I cannot change…I’m changing the things I cannot accept.” ~Angela Davis
THE RADIANCE OF LOVE: What is life without the radiance of love? ~Friedrich Von Schiller
HEDY LAMARR: Actress, producer, and inventor of the technology that led to the development of wi-fi. “A good painting to me has always been like a friend. It keeps me company, comforts and inspires.” ~Hedy Lamarr
JEANNE MOREAU: Star of The Bride Wore Black. Orson Welles described her as "the greatest actress in the world." She was also a gifted writer, director, and producer, and sang with Sinatra at Carnegie Hall. Still stunning in her later years.
MARLENE DIETRICH: As well as being a vocal anti-fascist, she set up a fund to help Jews escape Nazi Germany and come to the U.S. She gave one of the first lesbian kisses in cinema history in the movie Morocco. And she looked really good in a tux.
SOMETHING ABOUT MAE WEST: An actress, a feminist, a champion of gay rights, a singer, a playwright and, at one time, was one of the two highest earners in the US. The other was William Randolph Hearst who demanded that "Congress do something about Mae West!"
I LOVE LUCY: “Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.” ~Lucille Ball
JOSEPHINE BAKER: She always stood up bravely against the forces of discrimination; she became the first black woman to star in a major motion picture; during WWII she became a French Resistance spy; and she fought against segregation and racism as part of the Civil Rights Movement. “I did take the blows, but I took them with my chin up, in dignity, because I so profoundly love and respect humanity." ~Josephine Baker
MATA HARI: Margaretha MacLeod (no relation), dancer and spy, executed for espionage during WW1. Though not entirely innocent, some describe her as “a scapegoat who was very unfairly treated.”
SHE WALKS IN BEAUTY: She walks in beauty, like the night, of cloudless climes and starry skies; And all that’s best of dark and bright meet in her aspect and her eyes. ~Lord Byron
LA DIVINA: “An opera begins long before the curtain goes up and ends long after it has come down. It starts in my imagination, it becomes my life, and it stays part of my life long after I've left the opera house.” ~Maria Callas
