1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
These oils on canvas are portraits of small lead model figures that I’ve collected over the past few years. Spotted in junk shops or on Ebay, they cost a few pounds each. I photograph the models in the studio and substantially enlarge them (sometimes the original faces are only 5mm across) then work from these photos to produce the paintings.
What I find interesting is that as I work these characters appear, presumably as much from my own head as from the model (often the face is so bashed about that there isn’t much to go on). The process reminds me of periods when I worked in social care with people who often looked older than their years, scarred or damaged by addiction and tough lives. The process of gradually coming to know these individuals through support services and often having my initial impressions completely overturned as the characters and their lfe stories were slowly revealed to me is similar to the way these paintings develop over time.
To see pictures of the original models and the working process, please take a look at my Instagram account (link in orange above right) where I have posted photos of the originals.