Sitting for a painted portrait is an unusual and intimate experience. It involves taking time out of normal life, of sitting still, being looked at and listened to, listening and sharing. In the age of the digital, online selfie, including staged and shallow self representations along with mass exposure and over sharing, this process contrasts with its slowness, intensity and physical presence. It is a reminder that we are not pixels, that personal relations are important and require time, presence and reflection.
These works are from a series of oil portraits, done from sittings, which focus on just faces. Their small size invites the viewer to approach each face closely.