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At first pass, my reaction was "OK . . . yet another nicely done, competent portrait head. >sigh< "
Coming back to it, Zen-like qualities began to sneak up on me. The quietness of the background and the white blouse counter the position of the head and shoulders relative to the ground, and subtleties such as the glasses, the shape and depth of the collar opening, the turn of shadow on the sitter's right eye . . . all provide tensions expressive of the sitter's being, taking this piece beyond mere competent rendering.
Those who would dismiss portraiture from inclusion as fine art, and many who are painting portraits, do not fully consider the repetitious similarity of constraints regularly imposed by the situations which attend the painting of portraits. The predictable formality which results imposes an obligation on the part of portraitists to make unique creative choices within these formal constraints if a portrait is to rise to the level above that of "just another head".
Well done, Mike !
I beg your indulgence to refer my opinions on this piece indirectly to the thread discussing portraiture as fine art, which John Reidy started in the "Cafe G" a short while back.
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