PAUL
“Paul is a 27-year-old neighbor and is not a professional model. He is of Cuban descent and because of his dark and handsome “Caravaggio-type” looks, I thought of him immediately as the perfect studio model for a modern chiaroscuro painting. First I worked with brushes and then finished with a palette knife for the contemporary and impasto look I wanted.”
A short statement of the proposed artwork's relationship to the theme of "Light and Shadows" (150-500 words).
I consider my entries in this competition “updated chiaroscuro”. I wanted my paintings to have male figures expressing a moment that might reveal dark thoughts or worries but in a more contemporary style of chiaroscuro. Chiaroscuro, or “light”-“dark”, requires strong contrasts between light and dark. I interpreted that as meaning I had the liberty to use less shadowing and more flat tones of dark and light. I did not want to mimic a master artist such as Caravaggio but to honor his art as best I could.
