Click to scroll to Paintings, Photos, and Drawings
2015-present
“ArtistSeen” is an ongoing art project that I began in late 2015. It is portraiture of those who make up the creative world: artists, gallerists, curators, designers, illustrators, animators, art collectors, musicians, and writers — those I consider my tribe, my community.
These are people bring something new into the world, they shape the way we live, and form the future. And on a personal level, I like them; they are obsessed with making art and being creative. Making this body of work reinforces my sense of connection and belonging to the creative community. This work is my way of documenting the relationships I have with these people, my connection to this specific world, and also claiming my membership within it.
On another level, it’s a bonding and social thing. I meet an artist, we do a studio visit and photo shoot, and then we’re usually friends.
In the very early days, the photos were originally shot as reference for paintings. I was photographing the subject a very specific way that created dramatic shadows on the face; not necessarily the most flattering lighting, but the shadows are what I desired for the paintings. However, I only did a few paintings before I realized that what I really liked the most about this project was meeting artists and photographing them. I have now photographed over 200 artists.
The paintings shown are oil on wood, treated with gesso first, then cut into shape and mounted a couple of inches off the wall. The shadows created by the cut shape add an additional dynamic dimension and a sculptural quality to the work. The variability of the shadows adds a sense of liveliness to the work. The cut-out heads are influenced by classical Greek and Roman marble busts and statuary, but achieved using oil paint and plywood. My fascination with Greek and Roman antiquities goes back to my Artifacts photo series.
