Síobhra O’Reardon Farrell (aged 18)

Richard

Oil on canvas

Síobhra says: "Art is my whole life. Having worked with a variety of artistic styles, my newest love is contemporary realism. I adore the intense contrasts, highly saturated temperatures, distortion and textures. When I am not busy studying costume design, I spend my free time developing and improving my painting skills. I am part of the art community 'Cane-Yo' and, since joining, my skills have improved dramatically with the advice of the other members, including Richard, the subject of my portrait.

Richard took this amazing photo and as soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted to paint it. I originally planned to paint a whole extra figure on the right side of the canvas but once I had started painting the left I realised how much I loved the silhouette created by the edge of the bath and the wall above it. The way in which the piece looks resolved yet unfinished made me think about object permanence and impermanence. I framed the silhouette, slightly skewed the perspectives and created a curved line of focal points from the elbow to the taps. I wanted to create a piece that is conventionally 'unfinished', but completely resolved."

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