How can a human being be fit within a flat square? That is the fascination I have with painting people and portraits of everyday Madisonians: musicians, teachers, mothers, fellow artists, neighbors, students, adventurers, brave souls who allow us to stare at them for hours and attempt to capture them. What began as a mechanical desire to get the likeness ‘right’ has  turned into capturing the moment, the emotion, their personality ‘right’.

 

I often work with atypical canvas sizes, ones you can’t find ready made frames for easily, and from odd seats around the model stand where you can’t see the model’s face straight-on. This  provides room for the model’s pose to speak to the painting and how it wants to exist. Working from a breathing, blinking, yawning person requires quickness and decisiveness; sketching quickly in oil, wiping it down and re-blocking it if needed, working within the temporary setting and the energies of the model and myself on that given day. Is my energy large, chaotic? Is it quieter, more contemplative? These subtle feelings influence and indicate the size of the canvas, and the approach I want to take: Large and broad, small and precise, soft and nuanced or bold and opaque. My portraits and figure paintings invite you into a moment,  whether that moment is a snapshot, hours in the studio, or the impact of months long experiences.