Sophie Mae Vee
"The creations I paint have tormented me since the earliest days of childhood. It simply wasn’t enough to allow the brush to flow from my fingertips to create what I see. The difficulty of transferring raw emotion and experience to paper has fueled my lifelong crusade to perfect that translation of mind to matter. It is my familiarity with the obscure and the unsettling, that of loveliness and grace, that drew me to work with human blood. It is my ability to see true beauty where most see horror.
I began painting in my early teenage years, obsessing over occult scripts signed in blood, and the ancient and oftentimes anonymous works of art done in the same. I was blessed and cursed with a mind that never ceases creating. This aspect of my being lends to my fascination in art and my need to transfer what I see onto paper. The quality of my art has evolved dramatically since working in blood, graduating from scribbles and stains to mastery of one of the most challenging artistic mediums."
Q & A
Does the blood coagulate?
Because I use 100% blood, yes, the blood congeals. Depending upon the subject and vision I am going for I may or may not use an anti-coagulating agent, However, despite the congealed “thrombus”, I am still able to stain paper to create a painting should I opt not to use an anticoagulant.
Why can’t you use period blood?
Period blood contains uterine tissue and is rather low in blood count, this creates a higher risk of decay in a painting and makes for an unpleasant piece of art. Though I know some do use menstrual blood to paint, I personally refrain.
Do you have to worry about bloodborne pathogens?
No, you don’t have to worry about bloodborne pathogens from the paintings, I take great safety measures when producing my paintings for starters only using my own blood to prevent any exposure to unknown contaminants. Each painting goes through quarantine before being sealed using antimicrobial and UV resistant sealants and them permanently framed.
Do the paintings stay red?
This also heavily varies depending upon sealants, frame types, and effects I intend to portray. Many of my paintings from years ago remain bright red while others take on the classic oxidized look that blood tends to age into.
How long have you been painting in blood?
I first began painting with the medium when I was a small child. Though I never created anything elaborate I would collect any blood from cuts and scrapes to write and sketch in, To me, blood was extremely potent in energy, I didn’t enjoy working in anything else once I began my journey with it.
Does it crack when dried?
Depending how heavily you layer the blood itself, it may. I try to avoid applying too heavy a layer to prevent this, I aim to allow for the paper itself to be rolled without worry of damaging the art itself
Do you take your own blood?
No, my partner trained in phlebotomy takes my blood for me via venipuncture. This ensures proper protocols are being met to prevent accidents and loss of material.
How long do they last?
An eternity - with proper sealants and frames blood paintings can last as long as any other medium. There are even many works that have no sealants and still withstood the test of time.
Does this constitute as self harm?
No, this holds no comparison to self harm and I do not condone it to be used as such. Though painting in blood can be very therapeutic, the creation of art itself is the release of emotion - the action of drawing the blood itself is merely an act of collecting the medium.
As Thick as Blood
My lovely partner, Jeremy Lee Pauley was and continues to be my inspiration for becoming a full time blood artist. Jeremy himself has painted in human blood for over a decade and took me on as an apprentice to his craft.
“Now you are my muse, and I am in the middle of making a masterpiece”