The Strong and Lonely

2013 | Acrylic and Ink on Canvas | 50  x 150 cm

The Strong and Lonely is an exploration of how to get two personalities physically occupying the same space. 

Spiritually we seem able to do this easily.  The painting was my exploration into how to achieve this spiritual duality in a physical way.

This work started at a time in my life when I slipped a disk in my neck doing Yoga. I had to maintain such a strong exterior while feeling so alone in my physical pain.  Much of this painting was done on my back horzintally in bed...Sistene Chapel-style. With that said, it took around 2 years to finish.

Technically this piece is a lovely balance between raw hand work and mathematics.  I used Quadratic Edge Decimation on a high resolution point cloud to create the triangular meshes. All sounds pretty geeky (and it is).  When the two heads are brought together though, it becomes a beautiful (and painstakingly long) manual process of melding them line by line. This painting was a long meditation.

The Strong and Lonely is also dedication to a dear friend who has been in my life for almost as long as I can remember. He has taught me, challenged me, relied on me, supported me, questioned me.  Above all he has cared consistently.  A life long friendship is truly a precious thing.