Focusing on the process of portraiture with the use of colour and gestural mark making, my work aims to explore how the mood and atmosphere of the painting can aid in giving presence to the figure. Working from photographed references constructs a certain distance between the subject and the artist, which assists the exploration of space. In turn, the shift in perspective allows the space in which the figure resides to be interrupted, and time and space is abstracted.
Application of the paint is something of great importance to my process when creating a painting. The multi-layered and detail orientated method of paint application, in regards to the figure, is complemented by the contrasting background which is flatter and solid in parts, and fluid and painterly in others.
Brother 1, acrylic on canvas, 115x76cm (2020)
Laoise, acrylic on canvas, (2019)
Brother 2, acrylic on canvas, 115x76cm (2020)
Brother 3, acrylic on canvas, 76x51xm, (2020)