Stone Portrait - 2022

‘Stone Portrait’

This was the last painting I completed in my old studio space in Twickenham.
The elegance of the bare plaster walls and ceilings of my studio, influenced many of my paintings.
I remember seeing moving figures and animals which emerged from the bare plaster walls and these shapes, accidental shapes, influenced many of my paintings.
They were reminiscent of dancing frescos, female figures, and soft clouds.
The artist Helene Schjerfbeck is present in my portrait ‘Stone portrait’ and I feel her paintings have affected the way I portray faces.
Using a pallet knife to mark the lines in white, the effect is almost reversed, white on grey. The painterly effect is tactile/low relief.  Paintings by Helene Schjerfbeck, which have influenced ‘Stone portrait’ include.

Helene Schjerfbeck, ‘Katri’ – 1918