Alchemy, oil on canvas, 36″ x 48″, 2011: The essential question that drives my painting of portraits is, “What can a portrait be?” I’m interested in an expanded definition of portraiture that includes concepts like resemblance, definition and analogy. Can a portrait be from the back or the side as evidenced in early photographs? Can it be from above? Can there be a portrait with no features? Can there be no head at all? Can it be a portrait if it is not even a person in the way that a writer can conjure a portrait of a city or way of life? Can a portrait contain a strong sense of place or person, or an inner state of being? I wonder if there can be a portrait of a moment.
Max in Alley, oil on canvas, 24″ x 18″, 2011
Max Back, 14″ x 11″, oil on canvas, 2011
Max Back 2, Oil on canvas, 12″ x 9″
detail, Branchings of the Unreasonable, oil on canvas, 60″ x 84″
Rae, oil on canvas, 18″ x 24″
Taken, detail, mixed media on paper, 53″ x 110″
Taken, mixed media on paper, 53″ x 110″
He/She Didn’t Take, detail, mixed media on paper, 53″ x 120″
- It Didn’t Take, mixed media on paper, 53″ x 108″
- It Didn’t Take, Detail, 53″ x 108″ mixed media on paper