Oil on canvas
2024

This portrait captures a brief moment of pause during the opening of a recent art exhibition. The subject – my wife and fellow artist – looks into the unseen distance with a neutral expression, her lips parted slightly as if she’s about to ask a question or comment on some unseen event. Her face is cast into a deep shadow by her bucket hat, drawing a curved line across her cheek and leading the eye towards the titular lobster earring. 

The background has been simplified into a field of cool blues, which contrast sharply with the thick and bold colour of her clothes. The background, simplified into a field of cool blues, sharply contrasts with the thick and bold colour of her clothes. Executed through a series of box-weave style paint strokes, it allows the underpainted red and yellow to break through in places, creating a sense of a living and dynamic scene. These box-weave style brushstrokes can also be seen in the fabric of her oversized jacket, especially within the lower right section of the painting.  

This painting’s title also humorously references Vermeer’s ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’.