When I was a child I knew that I’d be an artist — the more I got into painting, the more it pulled me in. It’s like an obsession. So in a way, although the businessman in ‘Passerby Collins Street’ is world’s apart from me, I understand what it means to have intense focus and passion for something…and how this needs to be balanced with other things in life.
‘Passerby Collins Street’ translates what I felt from a few moments observing a middle-aged man in Melbourne. His strong piercing eyes caught my attention. The colours are the feeling and from my memory of this man I felt shades of blue, browns and orange. He was a confident guy on the go, rushing to get back to work, but something about him told me he wasn’t just all about work and ‘getting ahead’. Using acrylic on canvas, I painted the planes of his tired face, with the intention of adding in some softness. The warmer colours on the left side of his face represent him seeking or perhaps already finding sources of happiness. The light in the painting illuminates aspects of the man beyond his job title.
Being able to portray a human face is ever-intriguing to me, it’s a subject that you can’t stop learning to portray in different ways.
Preview more works from my upcoming exhibition, Passerby.
Steve Salo, ‘Passerby Collins Street’, acrylic on canvas, 50.5 x 50.5 cm SOLD
