Oil and charcoal on canvas board
2024

In this portrait, my dad can be seen caught in the moment before he fell asleep on the evening following an eventful Christmas.

Here he reclines on ‘his spot’ on the sofa, feet crossed and propped on the coffee table, with one arm outstretched across the arm of the sofa while the other resting gently on his chest. 

Seeing him accidentally posed so gently, reminded me of a figure within some classical paintings, I felt compelled to capture the resulting tiredness that excess joviality can bring.

The subject is seated on a large orange-brown sofa, marked in loose and thick brush strokes allowing further warmth from the red and yellow underpainting to break through. Against it, in the background, the cool tones of blue are situated against prominent marks of red and yellow, reminiscent of Christmas decorations. The face is set against a darker section of background, to create a higher contrast against his skin tone and to draw attention to his sleeping face.