“Are you lookin’ at me?” (After “Bather” by Aristide Maillol, 1900)
When on my travels I like to photograph statues by famous artists, particularly those by the French sculptor Aristide Maillol, but others as well, both ancient and modern. Over the last few years I have been painting small pictures of some of them and giving them humorous titles, such as this one by Maillol, which I have entitled, “Are you lookin’ at me?” My title could be a question asked by every female nude in art history. Most of these nudes were created by male artists for the male gaze. The nude in my painting confronts the viewer, particularly the male viewer, and forces the viewer to question their own motives. Many of the sculptures I have appropriated in my paintings represent figures from Classical mythology and my humorous titles subvert the “seriousness” inherent in their original making. Technically, I have allowed the Burnt Sienna underpainting to show through in places to enhance the bronze look.