Gynaika Green

Created as a mate for my piece 'Andras', Gynaika is a modern classical primitive portrait of a young female, drawing stylistically on Greek Art, History, and Culture. It's a simple line drawing in black and white, minimalistic, with just a little color used for emphasis and decorative effect. I am surprised at the popularity of this series. I am not sure what inspired it, but I realize now it was inspired.

I found a new way to express myself with these drawings, as I started my career with people portraits, but disliked the specificity of the genre, and was not happy with the pressures of doing commissions. I turned to self portraits over the years to experiment with something closer to what I wanted to do, closer to what I actually liked. When I look at portraiture throughout art history, I can point to a common thread in the artworks I admire. With these pieces, Andras and Gynaika, along with some others, I have gotten closer to what I want, and, like to see, in portraits: a universality, a simplicity, a modern viewpoint, and an iconic presence.



I did not work very closely with Andras when I drew this, but I did make a few references to it. It is difficult for me to stay interested in duplicating something that has been successful, because I am more motivated in wanting to know, than I am interested in success I suppose. Once I start drawing, no matter my intention when I sit down, my interest in what I don't know takes over, and I follow it to its end. If I had to work any other way I would choose a different profession. It's also why I stopped doing commissions. People have expectations, and I have none, only my interest and my quest to understand. The piece I hope speaks to both those things, and becomes part of the content. Which begs the question, is it still a just a portrait? I hope not. I hope it is much more than that. I hope it is a drawing. I hope it is a composition. I hope it shows deliberation and design. I hope it is content rich, but not in an illustrative sense. I hope it shows the years and years of experience of my drawing. I hope it references all the artists who inspired me. I hope it is universal in scope. I hope it is iconic.

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