Andy MacLean
Home: Antigonish, Nova Scotia
Title: Likeness and Curtain
Media: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 57 x 47 cm
Website: andymacleanpainter.com
Instagram: @andymacleanpainter
ARTIST STATEMENT
The subject of the painting is my daughter, Violet. I wanted to record her likeness, as I have fmany times previously, mainly to remember her at a particular point in time. For a representational painter, capturing a subject can be a way to ruminate over a fleeting moment, and through careful study that moment is somehow internalized and comprehended more fully.
At the same time, it wasn’t my intention to make a sentimental portrait. I appreciate the formality characteristic of the profile format. It recalls to mind ancient medallions, coinage or postage stamps where a deity, ruler or monarch could be represented. I think it’s interesting then, to use the format to describe a humbler subject with similar honors.
As a subject in the painting, the curtain calls upon thematic precedents in art history while it adds significance to the interpretation of the scene. Is the curtain being drawn back to reveal the sitter and her emergence into the world? Or perhaps it is beginning to close and so conclude the early years of childhood.
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
The artist (b.1975) is an oil painter and draftsperson based in the North Shore region of Nova Scotia. His focus is on revisiting and reinterpreting themes familiar to art history, such as the portrait, still life and the landscape. These long-established genres allow the painter to enter into dialogue with a rich history, while making developments through personal insights and observations. The artist has studied drawing and painting extensively for three decades. He is the recipient of numerous awards and grant projects and has taught drawing and painting at St. Francis Xavier University since 2012.