Self-Portrait with Christoph (Eyes)

oil on panel, 24” x 20”

This obviously owes something to Cubism and Neo-classicism with the way my head looks like a marble bust, painted flatly in light gray-blue and given definition with line. In contrast, Christoph is portrayed in colors more true to life. There is a white shaft of light that goes through one of his eyes, illuminating his nose, neck, and part of his torso. Lines connect my right eye with his as well as to my other eye in profile. This central eye is the artistic eye and it looks like an Egyptian hieroglyphic eye. It is the creative, symbol-making eye that exists in all artists from all cultures throughout history (thus the Greek and Egyptian references).

This painting is a tribute to Christoph as a person close to me who appreciates my work anbd identitiy as an artist. We have a dialogue; we see eye to eye and the shaft of light going through him shows how he is illuminated, mutually benefiting from the artistic process. The surrounding space is a neutral, shimmery gray, simultaneously magical and mundane. It is the day to day stuff from which we kindle sparks in order to make art and romance. Not is always an easy feat in either instance, but worth the effort.