The Process

The elder portraits are created using a process of imposed conditions to render a final piece that is both a representational image and a metaphoric map of their LGBTQ experiences. To this end, I impose multiple restrictions on my freedom. I begin by taking mug shot styled photos as reference, to insinuate the history of the homosexual as an outlaw and to force the models into a subdued expression.

I conduct an interview with the model intimately discussing their life in and out of the closet. I repetitively read this during each drawing session to keep their personal history forefront at all times in the studio. From a selection of the mug shots, I draw their primary outline imposing the grid replication method to reign myself in from any overly expressive gestures and to conform their structure to the parameters of realism. I enlarge their image to an imposing scale. Color I limit to a monochromatic pallet.

From within this tension of strictly imposed confines, I then draw to expose the nuances of their individuality and expression. I exhibit the outsized portraits in groups and clusters often labeled only with their first names, hung side by side in silent solidarity. Other times with their own words as an invitation to dialogue.