First off, thank you so much for all of your words of encouragement on my “comeback” post yesterday! I don’t know what the future will bring, but I truly appreciate the kind and encouraging words from each of you. You guys are the wind beneath my wings.. sorry, cheesy Bette Middler moment.. we now continue with our regularly scheduled artsiness!
Our faces have forty-three muscles, making it possible for our faces to express an amazing wide range of emotion. Sometimes, we know another person so well that we can tell what they’re thinking just be the expression of their countenance. Capturing such emotion as expressed in human faces is one of the strong suits of the work of Dutch artist Patricia Derks.
Derks does extensive research before each painting, yet her work has an amazingly fresh and unstudied air about it. But what amazes me most is the way in which we get such a clear sense of emotion and attitude from each face in such deft and limited strokes.
In the set of the jaw, the cut of the eyes, we are given a glimpse into the figure’s personality. We all like to think we can hide our emotions, but it only takes careful observance to read each expression.
Want to see more of Patricia Derks’ work? Check out her website.
All images via the artist’s website.