Portrait of a Contemporary Family

2002-2006
Each contemporary family portrait is based on two generations of an actual family. The figures are painted almost life size life size directly on the canvas, in their own space, devoid of any kind of background and possible associations of place, mood, or social symbols. This isolation serves to cancel extraneous information and concentrate on each individual figure, and then emphasize the image of the family as a whole. Each portrait also includes any pets the family has. There is no precise blueprint for which family members are portrayed. The portraits present a family.

A total of 10 Portrait of a Family paintings were created.
Family Sittings refers to historical painted family portraits, in which the sitters  were adorned with specific clothes and jewelry, and surrounded by carefully curated objects.  Extending this tradition; the family is painted, sitting, dressed in formal attire, in their living room. The families’ identities are portrayed only through their material belongings, their bodies implied only by the mold of garments.
Family Trees represent two generations of a contemporary family to swatches of skin color for each person.