Gifted author and courageous explorer Isabelle Eberhardt (1877-1904). What a life! An epic journey from her native Switzerland to her adopted north Africa, well worth discovering. This painting is from a series titled Eight Portraits exhibited in Thunder Bay, Ontario (1994) and Sydney, Australia (1995). Whether demonstrating solidarity or seeking alternative paradigms, all my subjects were influenced by indigenous cultures to varying degrees. From adorning costume to complete immersion into their adopted community. My goal with this project was not to achieve a “likeness” as a classic portrait painter might strive for. Instead, using the vocabulary of Photorealism, it was to reproduce at life size the analogue print media (books, newspapers, magazines, etc.) that brought these people and the spectrum of their motivations, to my attention.
Find the other related portraits from this series in the Culture genre.
