ABOUT SARAH KENNEDY IRWIN
One of my favorite subjects is people—with all the richness of expression and story that can be found in their faces. Facial lines and expressions do not just trace an individual’s solitary existence, but extend through the generations past and relationships present. Who we are is influenced by those who came before us as well as those who are here with us now.
Painting people is an act of discovery—a challenge to follow those lines around that face, to trace the character and circumstance of another person, to exaggerate patterns, heighten colors—an attempt to reach something beyond outward appearance, just beneath the surface; a sort of supra-reality of presence.
Most recently, I’ve been working on a series called Imago Dei [image of God]. I believe that all people are in some measure creative. It is part of the image of God to be creative—part of what makes us human. In the first two pieces in this series, I deliberately chose a person familiar to most; the other only to a certain few. Both of these individuals create. They embody the idea that as the creator creates; man—made in His image, imbued with his attributes—creates.
