Portraits – ‘contortion’

In my younger years I was fascinated by the supermodels of the era. My favorites; Rene Russo, Patti Hansen, Linda Evangelista. I admired them in the fashion magazines that my mother used to read (Marie Claire, Vogue, Harper’s Bazar). I wasn’t all that interested in what these models wore, it was the fabulous photography that really got me. I found the life they led even more exciting. Patti married Keith Richards, Rene was discovered at a Rolling Stones concert, and Linda wouldn’t get out of bed for less than $10,000 a day. They were outspoken characters.

For this series of portraits ‘CONTORTION’ I leafed through today’s fashion magazines and searched online for images of the catwalk. I saw stern heads, strong looks, faces without emotion. Such a contrast with how I remembered my idols from back then.

While painting these models of today an unintentional vulnerability in their facial expression came to surface. It surprised me.