All that detail took awhile, but I’m happy with it. I like the contrast between the busier parts of the painting and the simpler larger fields of color: her dress, face, and of course the halo. I simplified the details in the face more than I have in other paintings, and I think that’s a trend I’m going to keep exploring.
This stained glass/psychedelic fusion does interesting things to faces, in an abstract way. It’s something that has to be done with caution, though. The thing is, I never want to lose the humanity of my subjects in favor of the abstract elements.
The idea is to amplify the spirit so that others can bond with the subjects as sisters and brothers, not to objectify my subjects as an excuse for playing with pure color and design. The color and design are tools to enter into the deeper truth of the spirit we all share.
If we are all one, then not only are the faces depicted in the portraits us, we are also them.
What I’m hoping is that as we look at these paintings, especially as the numbers mount up, that we’ll see not only more of our common humanity, but also that in doing so we’ll enter into our own spirits more deeply, learning more about what’s in the depths of our own souls.
Spyder Webb Fine Art 