Jillian McDevitt

        I have always been fascinated by faces. With everyone I meet, I fixate on the details of their features, searching for what makes each face unique: their bone structure, the shape of their eyes, the distance between their mouth and nose, the scars, discolorations, the lines and wrinkles that reveal which expressions they tend to hold. Instead of capturing a single moment of these features and expressions, I choose to depict the same subjects layered over themselves, creating a cluster of their various movements and expressions. Some of the figures grow out of the others, holding on to each other, or appear to be a transparent ghost of themselves. I only include a background with detail if it feels relevant and important to the main subject or message of the painting. I also prefer that my paintings appear intentionally unfinished to suggest something unique and personal to the subject. I add more or less detail to certain isolated figures or features in an attempt to emphasize the importance that moment has to the piece. When it comes to both subject and style, I take inspiration from painters of various art movements: classicism has inspired me to use a more academic painting style while cubism and futurism inspire the abstract compositions I compose in an attempt to capture the figure’s energy and suggest a passage of time.