These paintings and drawings came as a result of my strong desire to paint more than just the physical person;
to express what is happening in the soul as well. I had been working on figure drawing, mostly from live models,
but found that there is a limit to the emotional expression a model can hold for a period of time. The range of
emotions expressed was also limited.
While looking for new subject matter, I began attending the rehearsals and performances of Analy High School Drama Department under the direction of Amy Connolly and later John Craven. I was struck by the high quality of the performances of these young actors and felt a strong emotional response myself.
Obtaining permission to photograph the rehearsals, I gathered source material with my camera for this series of work. Having seen the performances, I had far more information in my memory than just that contained in the photographs, and was able to work on these pieces with intense emotional involvement.
While some of these paintings and drawings do show a likeness to the actor depicted, the primary goal was to capture the universal humanity expressed. For instance, the source for the three charcoal drawings, Captive 1, 2, and 3, was Malvolio in Twelfth Night, but for me they represent any innocent person held captive.
Berenice