George and I are people watchers.  Sometimes when the hubby and I are stuck in a public place with time to kill, we love to watch the people go by, making up stories about who they are, where they are going.. Occasionally, in the course of observing, we may make eye contact with a stranger.  Just a glance, but in the moment, there is a recognizable connection between souls.  Los Angeles artist Kris Lewis shares his own experiences in human observations with his wonderfully moody portraits.

If you’ve read the blog for a while, then you know I’m a sucker for interesting portraiture.  Lewis follows in the footsteps of portraitists that came before him, his figures are beautifully drawn and rendered.  But what sets his work apart is the capturing of the fleeting emotion of a moment, whether conveying a sense of vulnerability, power, sadness, even resolution.

The faces portrayed often seem decidedly modern, but when juxtaposed with costumes of another era and surrealish landscape backgrounds, as one blogger put it, the result is “modern spooky”.  These aren’t prosaic traditional portraits to hang above the fireplace.  They are explorations of experience, revelations of hidden narratives.

It’s almost as if, in carefully observing his subjects, the artist sees them in another life.  A life previously lived in a different time and place.

Which makes me wonder.. how would such an artist depict me?  Or you?  Wouldn’t you love to know?!  Visit Kris Lewis’s website to see more and while he’s in the process of updating it, you can find his latest work on his Facebook page.  Speaking of Facebook, have you “liked” the Artsy Forager Facebook page?  If not, you may be missing out on all sorts of fun & interesting tidbits not shared on the blog!

Thank you to Christine at Bijou and Boheme for introducing me to this incredible artist!

Featured image is Weathered Oak, oil on wood, 24×20.  All images are via the artist’s website.