oil on canvas ・ 45 × 36″
This portrait is of Virgil Hammock, who was Head of Fine Arts at Mount Allison University when I was a student. We became reacquainted in 2013 when I spent a summer in the town of Sackville. The project which we began that summer was to paint a portrait of him during which time he would make written notes on the process and our conversation, which he produced in serial form on his blog. ( The series can be read here- https://virgilhammock.com/category/stephen-paints-a-picture/ -The sequence is reversed, of course, as it was posted chronologically). As it turned out I completed the portrait at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery as a component of an exhibition of my work in the spring of 2014.
Stylistically it is rather impressionistic, with large generalized brushwork and a minimum of detailed description. It is meant to capture the essence of his nature as he observes me observing him.
The painting is almost life size. It is an oil on canvas, 45 × 36 inches.