More about Portraits

By now I was rebelling against the hard-edge technique and positively refused to execute any further work in that manner. It savoured too much of Harry Alden’s influence, which I was determined to shed for good. I wanted to project myself in my style but as yet was not mature enough to know what it was. It came with experience and only gradually was it revealed in my later work. So I decided to show my proficiency in a field, which always gave me a great deal of satisfaction; Portraiture.

Portrait on Denim ‘Annalise’

Around this time I realized that I could make use of denim fabric as a ground for some of my portraits. The denim clothing of my sitter’s were barely touched except for a glazing of very much diluted dark colour where the shadows were needed. I was very careful to get the drawing correct at the first go because I wanted to preserve as much virgin denim as possible. Too much correction would have made it impossible otherwise. I found this new approach of mine very fascinating but after a few paintings on denim I felt like experimenting but was still wary of what was acceptable and what was not.I still lacked the courage to take the plunge. I knew I had mastered the grammar of art, thanks to my sound training but to assert myself as an artist in my own right was proving rather difficult. I had ideas which I sketched but which, at the time, I had not realized in painting.