Nadine Robbins Art

What do I paint and photograph people? The quick answer is that most of the time I don't know. There's just something about people faces. Painting these photos came later. Why did I start paintings portraits? It's a good question. I'm not sure because sometimes, to be brutally  honest, it can be so tedious. It's a love hate relationship. But over the years, I've discovered a pattern in my work which gave me the opportunity to finally connect the dots from my oyster paintings to people's portraits. This has been great to write the all so important artist statement that the art world and collectors want. It's not art speak. Maybe a little. But you have to work with the system. Here it is:

My oil paintings, made from my own photographs of the people in my life, are a declaration of self-ownership for those who crave authenticity, inviting viewers to see and be seen, fully and unapologetically, in a world that too often asks us to hide.