This new portrait is possibly one of my most complicated paintings with a lot of different elements that had to be balanced. The couple (Fritz & Bev) in the painting travelled South America on a motorcycle and the painting is not only of them but of their journey too.
It's always nice to technically experiment and push your work further; however a commissioned portrait is not the safest way to achieve this. After speaking to them I knew they would be very open to new ideas and so I went with my gut and painted without any constraint.
I wanted to capture a sense of movement (but not speed) and so the bike became fractured and I used from their own postcards which acted like markers dotted onto the canvas. On these postcards were images of roads which again added to a sense of travel and movement. One of these postcards depicts a landslide. This was chosen as after talking with them about their trip, you realise how adventurous you must be to embark on a journey of this type. This is not your average package holiday but the rewards are far greater!
