The Artist

Molly B. Right

Right was born in 1963, in Greensboro, NC. She has lived in Charleston SC since 1969. She began painting in 1993, and is self taught.

Right’s subject matter has ranged from vignettes of her childhood to minimalist figurative works.

The leap from narrative paintings to the bottle cap portraits was made in 2002, as I pondered what to do with a large  (4′x5″), rust stained,  piece of sheet metal. The patterns of rust on the metal brought to mind the Shroud of Turin.  I decided to use paint to enhance the vague  suggestion of a face, and painted a man’s face on the metal. A circle of bottle caps was used to form a halo, completing the painting, Bottle Cap Jesus.  I loved working in a larger scale than I had ever attempted before, and decided to make a companion piece, Mary. The bottle caps migrated from the halo to cover the entire piece. It was with that piece, that I realized that this was going to be my new path. A series of iconic women followed.

PROCESS

The bottle cap portraits begin with a painted portrait, on a piece of sheet metal. The caps are then attached to the painting, in such a way that they overlap, like the scales of a snake. The bottle caps date from the 30′s to the 70′s and are considered collectable on their own.
Particular attention is given to the craftsmanship, so that no traces of glue are visible. Transparent washes of glaze are often used to further define the image. Most of the portraits are 4′ x 5′ and weigh 60-70 pounds.