ROWENA WITH WALLPAPER

300mm H x 310mm W

Oil and Mixed Media on Canvas

$980 AUD

These portraits were made from sketches made during the conversations they portray, later worked intensely to retract unnecessary information and add a visual depth of layering. There is a deal of interest that has been paid to the table surface, the shadows, the bottle, and the glass, that treats those elements as having at least equal importance as the sitter herself.

In this case the facial features have been simplified to attempt a kind of movie star of yesteryear mood, as opposed to trying for a direct likeness, and to indicate the flavour of that moment. The strange wallpaper is designed to amplify that 'gothic dive' vibe, and so add a playful 'wobbliness' to the intent... “Frankly my dear...” style, and casting Rowena into a kind of Greta Garbo role.

There are a range of explorations within the elements too, for example the very undersurface of the painting serving as the shadow for the glass, just as it does conceptually for the painting itself