Frank As Androcles
Painting, Human figure, 25.5x34x1cm
The paintings and drawings I make are usually of people I am very familiar with. My work isn’t just about careful observation from life or photographs; it’s about my impressions of someone, or slowly gathered memories, and even invention I project onto them.
This painting of Frank is consistent with that – he was the model I used when teaching life drawing. I paid him to sit for me during our lunch break. He had always appealed to me as a subject because, when static, he took on a melancholic gravity. Young models and young people in general do anything to hide their vulnerability, but for people of Frank’s age that’s much harder to do. It’s this exposed, noble sadness that I wanted to capture.
I saw Frank as a Saint Jerome figure – the old hermit who tames a lion. My girlfriend got confused and started referring to Frank as Androcles – the slave who takes the thorn from the lion’s paw – and I let her because I am not attached to titles.
This painting of Frank is consistent with that – he was the model I used when teaching life drawing. I paid him to sit for me during our lunch break. He had always appealed to me as a subject because, when static, he took on a melancholic gravity. Young models and young people in general do anything to hide their vulnerability, but for people of Frank’s age that’s much harder to do. It’s this exposed, noble sadness that I wanted to capture.
I saw Frank as a Saint Jerome figure – the old hermit who tames a lion. My girlfriend got confused and started referring to Frank as Androcles – the slave who takes the thorn from the lion’s paw – and I let her because I am not attached to titles.
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