Charlie Chaplin ( Part of The 'Once upon a Time' collection) Oil

This is a striking monochrome portrait of Charlie Chaplin, (Part of the 'Once upon a Time' collection) by Mel Davies — painted with both palette knife and brush, and it reads as pure impressionism rather than a tight likeness.
The whole image is built in black, white and warm greys on a pale, almost empty background, which throws all the attention onto Chaplin's face. He's caught mid-grin, head tilted slightly, eyes bright under those famously arched brows. kept the icons — the battered bowler hat, the small toothbrush moustache, the loose bow tie and jacket collar — not outlined them. Instead they’re suggested.
That’s where the technique shows:
Palette knife work: you can see it strongest in the hat and the shoulders. Thick, flat planes of black with the edge of the knife scraping a clean rim on the bowler, and choppy, directional marks building the jacket. It gives weight and that slightly battered, vaudeville texture.
Brush work: the face is softer. blending the greys wet-into-wet across the forehead, cheeks and nose, letting the light sit high on the brow and the tip of the nose, then dragging shadow down the smile lines. The eyes are the most finished part — a little crisp white highlight keeps them alive — while the curls at the temples dissolve into loose, scribbled black.
It feels impressionistic, not chasing photographic detail. chasing expression. The mouth is open in that Chaplin half-laugh, the eyebrows are lifted, and the whole head leans forward as if he’s about to do a bit. The paint moves with the mood — fast, confident, a bit cheeky.
Down in the lower right signed “M Davies”, tucked into the dark of the lapel so it doesn’t interrupt the face.
It’s a classic Davies approach — instantly recognizable subject, but rendered with energy and physical paint, so from a distance you get Chaplin the icon, and up close you get the knife marks and brush sweeps that make it unmistakably handmade.
This wonderful artwork comes with signed certificate of authenticity.