Please take a moment to enjoy the story - the thoughts behind this painting.

"43"  

The idea for this work came to me when one of my friends turned 43 years of age.  I sketched the numbers and saw how readily the numbers '4' and '3' could be combined to create a profile.  Using the '4' to represent the face and neck and the '3' for the hair, I added a suggestion of a bust to reinforce the perception of the subject as female.  I think this also permits a more interesting shape at the end of the curves begun on the right side of the painting.

The character could possibly be interpreted as aloof, distant and perhaps mysterious.  The sharp difference between the bright colors on the left and the dark on the right further emphasize the possibility that the subject may embody some measure of duality, an inner darkness hidden behind an open countenance. (Because I know a number of women with red hair, I made the eyes neutral in color so that – besides helping to strengthen the distant nature of the character - no one could say that the image was intended to represent them!)