In my junior year at MECA I started doing portraits of fellow students. They would sit for me, then be on their way. Jumping from one sitter to the next, I was not really digging down and getting to know each person, yet the thought of having someone pose longer than the requisite hour or two felt scary. Oh, the intimacy of it; so much like a relationship. (If you'll pardon the crude analogy, I had been doing a sort of slam bam thankyou m'aam, and now wanted something more meaningful). I also wanted to do some portraits that were not pretty, with permission to delve into the dark side of the individual (and the dark side of me) without the worry of offending anyone. So who better to partner up with than Joe McVetty. Joe was a painting major, a senior, and was infamous at MECA. His art is controversial: it can be violent, confrontational, dark and disturbing. It is also often very funny and beautiful: he is an amazing draftsman. Joe was so out there that I knew he would have no qualms about having his darkness portrayed by another artist. So I asked him if he would be willing to pose for me over the period of a couple of months. He graciously agreed and we set to work. Joe sat for me many times from November to January. I could write a book about our conversations. I am very grateful to Joe for sitting all those hours and sharing his life stories with me. He is a sweetheart.
I will show you my series of Joe drawings and prints in three posts, because there are quite a few.
I will show you my series of Joe drawings and prints in three posts, because there are quite a few.
Joe from the Left, 2004
pastel, oil, and charcoal on Rives BFK, 22" x 30"
SOLD
Joe with Black Veil, 2004
pastel, oil, charcoal and lithograph on paper, 22" x 36", For Sale.
Joe McVetty, 2004
charcoal, 15" x 22". For Sale.
No comments:
Post a Comment