This series of head paintings begun in 2008, initially offered a safe space in which to place emotions while teaching art at an addiction hospital. Now I revisit them from time to time. They are themselves addictive, since you never quite know what will present through the act of painting. Each painting begins with a simple oval shape. The features are added loosely and without deliberate intention, other than there being eyes, nose and mouth. The results are always a surprise and I think this element of the unknown with the universal familiarity of a face leads the brain to place meaning on the outcome. Not wanting that to necessarily be the case, for this one I opened a book and randomly selected a few words. The book was a deliberate choice – ‘Dorothy Parker, The Collected Dorothy Parker’ since her writing is primarily concerned with the human condition.
