Evette. The Gaze Oil

This powerful painting "Evette", is my attempt to merge classical portraiture with radical contemporary elements.
Evette is a good friend and has recently broken free of English life and has settled in France. Executed in oil on panel, the work subverts traditional realism by integrating a high-contrast Op Art pattern directly onto the subject.
​The striking composition, featuring a detailed female figure enveloped by a graphic field of black and white vertical stripes, creates an immediate and mesmerizing optical illusion. The pattern acts simultaneously as a frame, a veil, and a form of visual noise, forcing the viewer's eye to navigate the fragmented identity of the sitter.