Acrylic on Canvas | 2025
Marilyn lies back against black, blonde curls spilling across the surface, one arm bent behind her head, red lips parted like she’s about to say something she’ll never fully explain. The only real color in the piece lives in those lips and the deep red fabric beneath her — everything else stays in soft beiges, taupes, and shadow. Her eyes look upward, not at the viewer, as if the performance is still on even when no one is watching. This one is about the cost of being looked at. Some people are never allowed to simply exist. They have to shine, seduce, soft-focus, and still somehow remain untouchable. The red was deliberate — not the pretty kind, but the kind that stains - like both invitation and warning. The rest of the palette stayed quiet so the lips could do the talking. This piece is the reminder that beauty can be a kind of armor and a kind of trap at the same time. That the people we turn into icons are often the ones who paid the highest price for being seen. It’s softer than past work, but not safer. There’s still a tension under the skin, a sense that the moment is already slipping away.






Each print is a faithful reproduction of the original hand-painted canvas, capturing the texture, color, and attitude of the piece as closely as possible in print form.
 
© [2026] Ride or Dye Design, Amanda DeJong. All rights reserved. This is a reproduction of an original painting.