My portraits are deep studies of a person or thing, to understand it and to convey its unique and individual character, its essence. Some are purely about the subjects depicted, their nature, or situation, or viewpoint; some are as much about one not in the picture: a character implied, or the observer through whose eyes we're looking, or the viewer (you), or the creator (me) - their perspective, situation, role, identity. My fruit paintings are family portraits, of a sort; it is entirely about the relationships within the group, the attitudes & postures they hold towards (and away from) each other.
I’m currently making portraits of chairs. Our chair, we know intimately. We choose it for how it fits our unique body. It is a haven to which we retire to read, think, write, sit with our selves. Holding our most private parts within its supportive embrace, its seat in time takes the shape of our own: we know it & it knows us. A well-loved armchair is one half of a well-matched couple. As I document the character & essence of the chair I am depicting, I am also considering its other half, the one not there.
