Portrait painting was one of my first interests in painting, and I continue to paint portraits, and curated an invitational portrait show at The Alexander Gallery at Clackamas Community College in the fall of 2017. This was a unique opportunity to see how some modern NW artists interpret the subject of portraiture, to inspire each other, and to exhibit to the public a sample of current PNW portraiture.
Portraiture is one of the oldest forms of representational art, and one of the most important for the human desires of communication, expression, documentation and immortality.
A person’s image contains not just visual information, but a presence created by a personality- a flesh and bones being fashioned by genetics, environment, other people, and the choices, chances and attitudes of a lifetime.
By focusing in on a specific little know human, an artist can tap into a universal stream of humanity. The hyper-localized portrait can often become a piece that speaks to many.