Happy New Year! updated 7th January 2012
My home exhibition was good fun, with a plenty of people enjoying the work and enjoying the pleasant atmosphere. On this side of the world it is summer and the day was precisely that and that helps...
I have been busy the last few weeks with a series of commission portraits. I love making these portraits, especially because some of the kids I know so well. Painting someones portrait is doing a deep study of a person and sometimes surprising elements appear. The other day I was watching a documentary on twins and how much of our personalities are determined by our genes (considerable according to the narrator). I tend to agree. When I paint someone I try to delve into their core personality. These traits never change much over a life time. To me it is very important to contain these elements in a portrait, so that they are not just a graphic likeness but a dynamic vessel of the persona. The viewer gets a sense of the person.
I have been busy the last few weeks with a series of commission portraits. I love making these portraits, especially because some of the kids I know so well. Painting someones portrait is doing a deep study of a person and sometimes surprising elements appear. The other day I was watching a documentary on twins and how much of our personalities are determined by our genes (considerable according to the narrator). I tend to agree. When I paint someone I try to delve into their core personality. These traits never change much over a life time. To me it is very important to contain these elements in a portrait, so that they are not just a graphic likeness but a dynamic vessel of the persona. The viewer gets a sense of the person.