The subject matter of these watercolors is predominantly Human Faces. These paintings utilize a full color palette and wet-on-wet watercolor painting. The mood, personalities and presence of these faces are established not only from their expression but also their painting style. These images are a significant departure from my last body of watercolors, the ''Chinoiserie” series that used only the color Blue in a tight, linear and precise style.
The paintings are sometimes installed in grid-like formats. This method of presentation produces a “crowd scene” of humanity. Each individual painting in the grid uses the same composition, i.e. one face fills each sheet of paper. When the faces are combined together, the viewer recognizes the qualities that all human faces share but also discerns how slight variations in each face produce an individual with his own emotion and expression.
In the same exhibit are grid-like representations of Dogs. They also share the same expressions and personalities of the human part of the exhibit but these are full-bodied images. Their body language and gesture, coupled with the facial expressions, define their emotions. One large grid piece juxtaposes Dog and Human faces in an alternating grid pattern.
The process of making both the Dogs and the Humans is the same. A randomly executed image will be laid out on a sheet of paper then wet down. The flowing pigment will distort the initial image. More paint is applied into the moving pigment to “fix” the new image that begins to form. More layers, blottings and editing will produce the final image that is completely different in composition, form, color and type than what was realized initially on the sheet of paper. Gouache, some acrylic but primarily watercolor is used in making these paintings.
