Portraits
As a portrait painter I try to get to the essence. As a result, I leave out things that are disturbing or cause a kind of noise in the image. The people I show look at us intently, as if surprised at our presence as a viewer. As humans, we seek contact with others through our eyes. That is deep within us and that is why a straight look can be so penetrating. I have the feeling that a soundless dialogue arises in which our eyes sense those of the other and, as it were, try to 'read'. That's what intrigues me about these kinds of portraits. As soon as I've painted the eyes and face, an almost bizarre dialogue of looking and being looked at begins for me. Light, shadow, darkness really do nothing but focus what my work is about; man in pure form.
Paintings are mounted on charcoal which is fixed upon completion and prepared for a base of transparent but dark oil paint. This creates a skin with several layers of paint; first coarse and later finer. With the following oil paint layers, the contrast between light and dark is enhanced and the colors are used more deeply. Sources of inspiration are contemporary painters and photographers who give me ideas for depicting people in a certain setting.
Another reason to work in several layers is that the assessment of what arises is spread over several points in time. Sometimes you are initially enthusiastic about a certain effect, which later turns out to be disappointing and needs adjustment.
Title: Not coming back.
Oil on canvas (linen)
120 x 70 cm.
She was waiting to her beloved one until she got the message that he is not coming back. The scenery is despited the drama someting that happens today in every warzone like the Ukraine. Terrible.
I had a previous one of this portrait which was to brown and therefore a bit to old-fashioned. I cut off a 30 cm from the right side and changed the brown color into a more blue one. That removed part did not fully contribute to the whole picture except that the spectator could get more feeling about the room she's in.
