We spend so much time complaining about wearing it, we might not have noticed how much the mask has come to define the past year, physically, emotionally and, yes, visually.
But Phil Gayter, artist and ad man, has noticed, and is painting a series of masked portraits.
“I decided to do a self-portrait, painting myself with bright yellow gloves and an N95 mask. That was the start,” said Gayter, who lives in Highland Park. “It was going to be a one-off. As the pandemic was setting in, I was spending more and more time at home, I had my daughter over, and I did a portrait of her in a mask.”
Artists tend to work in themes — blue periods, haystacks series and such. Gayter saw potential in the masked subject.
“All of a sudden I thought something’s going on here that I really, really like,” he said. “A coming together of myself as an artist and a business thinker, coming up with an idea that holds together. That’s what I do for my clients, create branded messages. The mask proved to be that point of distinction, allowing me to think of a collection of paintings that capture the moment, poignant yet whimsical.”
Gayter, 63, was born in England.
”I went to Manchester Metropolitan School of Art and studied as a fine artist,” he said. “But being a working-class kid, being a painter was not going to make me financially secure, so I moved into advertising.”
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Important work on so many levels. Artists contribute so much to our society. I anticipate a lot of great art coming out of the last year with so many stuck at home for such a long time.
ReplyDeleteI see and hear some these works being created in my home by my son and his art student girlfriend. Hopefully the economy will recover and people will have money and buy art again soon
Mr.Gayter does nice work still I'm not sure I'd want a painting of a disaster in my living room to remind me of this time . When this is over it will be difficult enough to begin to forget .