These four 16 by 20 inch acrylic portraits painted in the modern style on stretched canvas are composed as a quad-dyck (a four panel composition).

Modern portrait style stresses relationships between artistic elements such as line, shape and colour over likeness. This particular quad-dyck compostition is more colour driven than form driven. This contrasts with the traditional view of painting as a mirror-like-window.

Each portrait was assigned one of four major colours: orange yellow, green yellow, green blue and a violet red. These four large area colours are contrasted with a proportionally smaller common flesh colour which in conjunction with the black linear component provides subordinate elements of unity.

The large coloured areas of each painting interacts collectively with the other three to form an integrated colour system which is only experienced when all four are hung together under ideal lighting conditions forming a 32 by 40 inch colour reflective surface.

The flat simple linear portrait style suggests both a humanesque quality and a constructed quality. These two competing qualities cause viewers to constantly adjust their mental conclusion between the face could be real and the face could not be real.

It is unfortunate the above graphics are so inadequate at presenting the true colour quality of these four paintings as only the best of colour pigments were used in their construction. The graphics do provide an idea of how the four portrait composition elements were distributed over the quad-dyck arrangement.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank each of my four councillors for allowing me to experience your spirit during our private photographic sessions.

Keith O'Connor
June 2008