Dimensions: 27x21cm
Painted: 2009
Materials: Acrylic on MDF board
Private collection
The story behind Carolyn 2
The first Carolyn portrait was rejected. The response was to paint a second one — better, more accomplished, an unambiguous demonstration of what was technically possible. It was, in part, an attempt to win her back.
This is one of my best portraits technically — the hair, the glasses, the hands holding the phone, the deep green architectural detail of the old Yarra Glen bus stop behind her — all of it resolved with a precision that represents the absolute peak of the skills developed to that point. It was painted to impress, and as a piece of painting it succeeds entirely.
Carolyn saw a photograph of it online and hated it. She subsequently had a legal restraint imposed on its publication. That restraint has since lapsed.
Source image of realism painting Carolyn 2
