Adam Brooks - Shawna Lynn McLeod 2008

Shawna Lynn Mcleod
oil on canvas
12 x 12"

This painting uses a broad range of colours to bring out the different aspects of someone's face whilst moving away from normal skin and pastel shades that would make it too photo-realistic. The painting captures someone in a pose that would indicate they are not intending to head out for the evening to a club, maybe just http://www.casino.com/ - in fact, they are wearing a colourful (and casual) shirt and look as though they have been caught completely unaware, making for a more honest visual account of their appearance.
It is important to consider what we perceive when absorbing the art of another. The brush strokes and use of deep colour communicate the artist's love and care over the work, and the importance of his subject, outside the confines of the painting. The composition is stark, and contains a great deal of realism, especially when you consider the formal composition of other works in oil, usually posed carefully and with a great deal of melodrama, in stark contrast to a painting that, for all intents and purposes, resembles a spontaneous snapshot of a moment of surprise.

© Adam Brooks, all rights reserved.