Rose Mary Gates, exploring diversity of human face & figure

My interest in recent years has been in exploring diversity of the human face and figure which led to creating graphite, pastel and oil portraits. The subjects of my paintings are images of people that have captured my imagination because of the expression on their faces or an indescribable “something” that draws me to them. Some of the people I know very well, others are strangers. What they all have in common are thoughts I imagine they hold.

Currently, I work with oil on canvas because of the richness of the pigment. I keep the backgrounds simple because the dark pigments create a rich background. This helps me to highlight the subject.

I hope the viewer looks at the expression on the faces or observes the body language and wonders what thoughts or emotions hide inside.
Rose Mary Gates
Sep 23, 2017