Artists - Those Outside The Box

Artist Statement:

I have always been drawn to portraiture.  My challenge is to portray a person not just accurately, but distinctively.  Caputring a likeness is only a portion of the process.  Taking that likeness beyond the boundaries of safe, traditional portraiture to another level is my interest.  I focus on the background surface painting as much as I do the subject.  This is a result of my training as a decorative painter.  The techniques I use to treat walls, floors and furniture lend themselves naturally to my fine art process.  I start with wood which can support the layers of plaster, wax, stains, and paint that I use to give the board an intentional although seemingly organic multilayered foundation to build the portrait onto.  I paint the face carefully allowing the shapes between the face and the existing surface to overlap as the background becomes a highlight on the hair or the shadow beneath a cheekbone.  The relationship of these layers creates the ghostly, translucent appearance.  The combination of old and new, inherent and ocmposed creates a tension vital to the work.  It is when harmony arises out of this tension that I put the brush down.

sarah@johnsarahjohn.com