Experiments In Oil#3

I LOVE to paint portraits, people, figures, gestures.  In the hands of a skilled and thoughtful artist, Old Master or contemporary, there is no subject more compelling for me  than a portrait.  But, paintings of people can sometimes leave me less than satisfied.  They can sometimes appear to me, too pretty, or too gimmicky, too separate from the viewer, or too…vacant.  I wondered what would happen if I pushed all of these notions?  So, I did.

With this third painting, I decided to glaze with opacity (a paradoxical notion), in order to create a ceiling, if you will.  A separation between subject and viewer, like the photos I’d taken of debris, still, under a frozen pond.  This painting is no longer a portrait because it does not reflect what I know about my subject. Here, she is merely reference for a painting. It speaks for me, not for her.  Got to say however, that I enjoy this outcome:)

The three experiments in oils have helped me come to some conclusions about the way I like to work, what practical methods I find satisfying, and the thought behind what I want to make. I think that now I’d like to further explore both my appreciation for portraiture and my personal prejudices about portraiture, to see what might happen next.

Thanks for your kind comments and interest!  I’ll keep you posted;)