My paintings are manifestations of a tender touch and the finite relationship that I hold with physical paint, allowing the oil painting methods of wet-on-wet, drybrush, or even a single impulsive stroke, to create an image where the figural takes form. This approach translates the fluid intimacy of the bodily experience, archiving each painting as a temporary, fleeting moment in time. I channel these experiences through close examinations of bodies in private, intimate poses, intertwining as if becoming one. I use cropping methods that isolate moments of physical connection, like her cheek on my chest, or the tension of her hand on my hip. I am interested in the vibrational energy that happens when skin touches skin, the moment when everything falls into place. Each painting concludes with an unabashed indulgence in sensuality, eventually settling into a quiet breath of its own. I am looking towards contemporary artists like Jenna Gribbon and Anthony Cudahy for their tender depictions of queerness and sexuality, while referring to the Bay Area’s Richard Diebenkorn for his honest painting quality and romanticization of color.
“You See Me Now”
“Post Strap Caress”
“Untitled Estrogen”
“Post Shower”
Delaney Rayborn (b. 2002) is a painter from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She received her BFA at the University of Georgia (2025) and is now an MFA candidate for the SMFA at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts. Rayborn focuses on sensuality and sexuality, portraying the sexily human moments when two bodies meet and fold into one. Using oil paint as both material and metaphor, Rayborn’s relationship to paint is unrelentingly important, viewing the versatility of the medium as directly connected to the sentimental tenderness of sex and love.