Portrait in Blue, oil/panel, 16" x 12", 2009 evolved out of the same sessions as Tango with Teacup. I enjoy creating texture in oil paintings, and the wood panels used in these paintings provided ideal surfaces for experimentation with palette knives, rubbing and scraping techniques, and other kinds of paint manipulation.
In Portrait in Blue I used a traditional still life composition of inanimate objects grouped on a table-like foreground. However, the comfortably familiar arrangement of objects yields to unexpected qualities in the painting's subjects. While the tall cylinder could be construed as brand-new, the other objects have a bit more personality: the ball is somewhat punched in, the teacup is balancing on the weight of a bent handle, and the little cylinder tucked underneath is more ethereal than real. Note also the intentional crowding of objects with strong directional lighting and a limited palette - these choices are an homage to one of my favorite artists, Giorgio Morandi.
The idea for this painting emerged while I was thinking about family portraits and the ways in which we arrange ourselves for these public displays of unity. I imagined how a menagerie of objects might present themselves to others if given the opportunity. Portrait in Blue hints that balls, blocks, and teacups have a few stories to tell when they're not primping for a photo.
