David David David
When I first met my partner and he discovered that I was a painter with a predilection for portraits, he told me he’d never let me paint him. He was worried that once I had added him to my collection of faces I would be done with him, and, truth be told, he wasn’t that far off the mark where portraits of the men I dated were concerned.
Gwenn Seemel
DavidDavidDavid (Clown-Angel)
2005
acrylic on bird’s eye
17 x 16 inches
Still, spending a lot of time with me while not letting me paint his portrait was not a situation that could last for long.
Gwenn Seemel
David
2005
acrylic on canvas
26 x 15 inches
And I’m sure David guessed that the obsessive picture-taking of our early courtship would lead to a portrait of him.
Gwenn Seemel
David (The Astronomer)
2005
acrylic on canvas
22 x 28 inches
But, I also know that presenting him with these three portraits all at the same time—on the first birthday of his that he celebrated with me—was a surprise. And from these auspicious beginnings in my portfolio, David has gone on to sit for me at least once a year and often more than that.
Gwenn Seemel
It Doesn’t Matter
2006
acrylic on canvas patchwork
20 x 20 inches
In 2006, he became a key part of Mutually Beneficial with this painting. One of my favorite professors from college told me that this portrait failed to capture my sweetheart. Hess said that David had eyes he’d follow into war and that this painting didn’t inspire him in that way at all.
Then again, this portrait now belongs to Lucille, David’s mom. It’s her favorite of all the ones I have painted of him, and I suspect it’s precisely because no one would follow this guy to war that Lucille likes it!
Gwenn Seemel
Over Grown Up (Man)
2006
acrylic on canvas
2 x 10 feet
Later in 2006 I let myself go a bit and indulged in this five-faced portrait of David.
Gwenn Seemel
David
2007
acrylic on canvas patchwork bag
13 x 13 inches
And in 2007 David helped me figure out what I meant to do with my You Bags—this one being the second one I ever painted.
Gwenn Seemel
David x 2
2008
acrylic on either side of the same canvas bag
14 x 14 inches
He did it again the next year, and this time he did it twice.
Gwenn Seemel
Eyes In The Back Of My Hat
2008
acrylic on denim baseball hat
3 x 3 inches (dimensions of painted area)
In 2008 he even became the owner of the first and only “You Hat”...
...a distinction he wears exceptionally well!
Becca Bernstein and Gwenn Seemel
Partner
2010 and 2009
acrylic on wood and canvas
36 x 60 inches (combined dimensions)
And, by 2009, David (along with the rest of my family) had expanded his modeling horizons by sitting for my collaborator, Becca.
I’m still working on 2010’s crop of painted David faces, but it looks to be a promising year…
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CATEGORIES: - Philosophy - On portraiture -
