When the self speaks to the self, who is speaking… Virginia Woolf, An Unwritten Novel, 1921
Much of my work represents studies in introspection. The subjects, most often depicted as solitary figures, appear lost within themselves, whether reflexively (i.e. as in an automatic reaction to circumstances) or with conscious determination, subsumed within a deep and intentional, investigative thought process. The figures and faces portrayed explore mental states as attitudes, be they fleeting internal reactions manifested in a gesture of apparent pain, or self-contained reflection in which the subject is deeply ruminating images and experiences the viewer cannot see … but may recognize.
Although I occasionally use models for figure reference, more often than not I work from imagination. Creating a face is an exciting interactive process, you can never really predict the end result or how it will happen as it’s a subltly different journey with each painting.
J. T. Winik
Nov 28, 2011