The head of a man

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The head of a man, monotype, 9 x 11.7 cm

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Portrait of a young philosopher

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Portrait of a young Philosopher, acryllic on board, 90 x 70 cm SOLD

A somewhat deco-styled portrait of a friend. It was painted about twenty years ago in a flat on Maude Road, Camberwell, London.

 I have always found it difficult to paint portraits unless I know the person. The process of painting portraits is rather intimate (at least the sort of more psychological portraiture that I substribe to) and necessitates this psychological proximity. 

A good model is hard to find. It's no surprise that artists find a model and use them for years on end, like Bonnard's Marthe, or Auerbach's JYM. I'd love to find here the sort of person who expresses in postures their mental attitudes, who is thoughtful and has the sort of openness that could me allow to enter their mental set. I'd love to do a series of pictures with them. 

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Portrait of an American friend

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Portrait of an American friend, oil on card, 14 x 16.2 cm -  available

A picture from a session this morning. I will have another session later this week, hopefully. I am not sure how accurate it is It owes owe something to Cezanne.

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Many thanks to Davinder Chandhok for his patience.


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Portrait session with Carlos

 Carlos (head in profile), oil on card, 15.5 x 11 cm - unavailable

 Carols seated, oil on card, 17.5 x 13 cm

 Carlos 1, oil on card, 18  x 12.5 cm

Carlos II, oil on card, 12.5 x 18 cm - available

An excellent session with a a very patient and talented model, Carlos. The secret is to forget that you are doing a portrait and just walk through the  session- but that is the secret of succeeding in life in any situation isn`t it?

Portait of a Russian Woman; free pictures

Portait of a Russian Woman, oil on canvas, 73 x 60 cm

One of six portraits that were painted in the same corner of a flat in Maida Vale, London, about ten years ago. At the time, my notion was to create a huge series (very Perec-ian, perhaps), featuring many different sitters: life, however, got in the way.

At the time I was into portraiture, having had the notion of making a career of it. But I discovered that I lacked dependable accuracy in drawing likenesses. I was especially poor at depicting women, partly because my painting style was so angular that they appeared, literally, hatchet-faced.

I am sending this one to France, along with a nbumber of other paintings. It's great to find homes for pictures which have been sitting in storage: paintings should be seen and enjoyed.

Ergo, should readers see things they like here or on Flickr- particularly larger things, and want them, please let me know and I will send them to you if you pay the postage, packing, and handling costs.

Two new pictures

 

A model posing as a Cézanne, oil on card, 11x 11cm   - available

A portrait of Larissa

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A portrait of Larissa, oil on card, 8.6 x 11.5 cm  - available

A portrait of my charming architect friend in her room in Taubate.

The sort of portraiture that interests me is that which uses, Dutch style, the rooms inhabited by a person as an extended attribute (though my friend is less gloomy and more lively than my depiction might imply): I like portraits by Hammershoi, Whistler and Vermeer.

Portrait of a man seated at a table

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Portrait of a man seated at a table, oil on card, 9.8 x 10.8 cm  SOLD

I'm happy with this picture, especially the roughish texture: the result of painting over an old painting. The effect seems somewhat "Tuscan" to me. I like working very much on this miniature scale- I like the intimacy it brings.

There's an awkwardness to the drawing of the hand, and a certain heaviness to the neck, perhaps, but I like the depiction of the face as it has a certain sensitivity.

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Portrait of a reclining man

Portrait of a reclining man, oil on card, 13 x 11.2 cm  - available

I have been working such a lot teaching English that it has been hard for me to get on with painting. But in a few days will be the Easter break so perhaps I can get on and do something creative then.

A portrait of a young man

A portrait of a young man, oil on card, 9 x 11.5 cm

Lucas, again- he is a fine model, very hard to "catch".

For me, the most interesting models unconsciously reveal some element of their nature: they are not entirely in control of the messages that their faces and body languages transmit. The process of portraiture is not to affirm what is known and controlled, but to reveal "the unconscious life of the mind" - to transpose Knut Hamsun's words describing his writing to the practice of painting.

Lucas III

Lucas III, oil on card, 14.4 x 10.4 cm

The third of a series of Lucas.

A portrait of two friends: Ana and Tchaka

Two friends: Ana and Tchaka, oil on card, 14.5 x 15.4 cm

A portrait of two beautiful women who posed most elegantly in their lovely frocks while it rained outside.

I am very happy with all my models: they have all shown great consideration and humour.

Portrait of Tony Alana II

Portrait of Tony Alano II, oil on card, 14.4 x 10 cm - discarded

The second of the series: perhaps there will be five in total. Tony is a great sitter, with an expressive body language.

It is delightful to be painting portraits again: the experience is very intense for me, like doing an important exam- you've an hour and a half to get everything right. Working with the same model over a period of time is very enjoyable: every session revealing a different aspect.

Making art without that element of risk is an insipid experience in comparasion. Tomorrow I shall be paiting Lucas again.

Portrait of Tony Alana

Portrait of Tony Alano, oil on card, 9 x 12.2 cm

A little painting of my friend, Tony Alano, watching telenovelas.