My recent oil paintings depict a struggle against dominant standards of male beauty while proposing a sincere appreciation of unorthodox body-types.  Not unlike Lucian Freud, who frequently painted a nude Leigh Bowery, I concentrate on a single, large, male model.  By presenting different portions of the model’s body in a series of canvases, I seek to emphasize his large size.  Dramatic cropping also suggests that my subject does not easily fit into society’s rigid definitions of physical fitness and beauty.

 

In addition to Lucian Freud, I am inspired by the voluptuous nudes of Peter Paul Rubens, especially his Drunken Silenus.  But unlike these artists I combine representation with expressionism.  Vigorous brushwork and strident colors suggest my own subjective vision of what most people consider to be sexual fetish.  Rejecting that stereotype, this series of works explores the sensual appeal of large men, and grants them a sense dignity and acceptance that is normally reserved for their trim and athletic counterparts.  The results are physical, emotional, and capture the essence of a larger-than-life subject in smaller-than-expected frames.