I’d been studying old-master portrait techniques when I decided to paint my parents. The problem was, there was so much more to these two smart, funny personalities than I could ever express in a typical portrait. So, I decided to use traditional methods, non-traditionally. I added allegorical elements that relate to who they are, where they’re from, and what they’re about. Or, in art-speak: “Using Dutch Baroque-era techniques, this project reimagines traditional portraiture by incorporating modern photographic and stylistic influences, recontextualized Western symbolism, and lighthearted juxtapositions of high and low imagery.”
(Re: “Portrait of James Hart with the Common Birds of Uphams Corner, Dorchester” and “Portrait of Elizabeth Hart in the Attributes of Saint Margaret, Queen of Scotland,” oil on canvas.)
