Before the pandemic, my photo collage, pigmented beeswax and mixed media portraits were mostly large, with playful, exuberant color. Within a month of lockdown, seemingly on their own, headless portraits emerged in my studio practice and the lyrical color had disappeared. Pre-pandemic, the titles of my work were a vital component of the narrative, each carefully considered to describe a rich history for the subject of a portrait. This new portrait imagery warranted only modest titles, Quarantine Portrait One, …Two etc. Approximately fifteen months after the onset of COVID, there was a sense that the pandemic was dissipating, and faces reemerged in my work. They unfolded, at first, timidly, smaller than my previous work, with a muted palette. A vibrant, array of biographical texture soon emerged in vivid detail and the missing human connection materialized. These small portraits beckon the viewer for a long awaited, intimate, face to face encounter.
20x16x1.5”
Photo and Pigmented beeswax combines on Kozo and wood panel
20x16x1.5”
Photo and Pigmented beeswax combines on Kozo and wood panel
20x16x1.5”
Photo and Pigmented beeswax combines on Kozo and wood panel
20x16x1.5”
Photo and Pigmented beeswax combines on Kozo and wood panel
20x16x1.5”
Photo and Pigmented beeswax combines on Kozo and wood panel