Portraiture

In essence my art deconstructs the subject in an attempt to both loose the iconic symmetry between facial features and retain the identity of the subject. This process yields unique and arresting images of something common to us all; a face!

In some areas of my paintings the image remains true to the subject (realism), whereas in other areas of the painting I distort the image to bring about an effect that requires the observer to stop and study the painting to see where the realism ends and the abstract begins. It is this effort on behalf of the observer that gives my paintings their arresting effect because, to an extent, each of my paintings contains two paintings; a realism portrait and an abstract image. I largely favour using a muted/subdued palette, in keeping with that employed by the developers of cubism, but I also like to add small amounts of comparatively loud colours from time to time for contrast and partially in tribute to Francis Bacon's colourful palette.

Have a look at a selection of my paintings in the Gallery tab and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. I carry out commissions based on photographs -I can take the photos, or they can be of existing ones. Feel free to contact me with enquiries regarding sales and commissions.

 
To take a look at more of my paintings go to www.paintingsilove.com/artist/michaelpenston