Shannon Purcell
In my paintings, I engage in an ongoing dialogue with the culture of the past. Employing classical techniques alongside more contemporary approaches in oil paint and drawing from visual references in classic film, art history, literature, and popular culture allows me to utilize portraiture and figure painting to explore more complex ideas.
My process is guided by intuition, often combining seemingly unrelated elements that may reveal their connection over time. Through the layers of images, the actual model may become obscured, creating a visual reorganization where the original image and the model form a new recontextualization. This process becomes an act of discovery for both myself and the viewer.
My work revolves around themes of identity and the societal constructs projected onto it, exploring the masks we use to conceal ourselves and finding new ways to either use or break them. By illuminating the model with the contextual camouflage of projected images, my aim is to delve into more conceptual possibilities of portraiture.
Artist Bio :
Shannon Purcell is an oil painter from Western Massachusetts currently living and working in Austin, Texas. They studied fine arts and painting at MassArt and the techniques of the old masters with painter David Addison Small. Their focus is conceptual portraiture in oil using classical techniques with a contemporary approach. Their work is in many galleries and private collections across the country. They are also a poet and a musician.