My kids are used to seeing themselves in paintings. I use them as models a lot, although less these days than previously. Painting children is challenging and can easily lead to kitsch. There are always topics that are ‘forbidden’ in ‘high art’ (a single sentence with two sets of scare-quotes–a record for me). Not long ago kitsch and sex were among the forbidden topics, so–of course–I had to fish in those waters. These days, those topics, if not mainstream, are nearly so. Large paintings of meta kitsch and meta hard core are frequently seen.
Taking a stance against the mainstream can be liberating, and I believe that painters should paint whatever they want. Paint the stove in the corner (Cezanne), or paint some beat-up, old shoes (Van Gogh)–yep, sign me up. But it’s better–by far–to paint what you love than to arrive by calculating against’s and anti’s. At the end of the day, calculating what to paint in order to land in the mainstream, or to strike against it is still just calculating.
You know what’s funny? A lot of people think we’re in the era of post subject matter. If kitsch and hard core sex acts are fit for high art, then surely nothing is forbidden. If you believe that, test it out by painting anti-PC and conservative topics and watch the howls. People will call for trigger warnings on your work if not outright censorship. You have to be blind not to feel the immense changes afoot. Powerful forces are hanging in the wings getting ready to take center stage.
Anyway, Boat Hook is 24″ x 30″. Keith Before a Painting of Keith is 30″ x 40,” and the largest painting, Jane and Keith Aboard the Betty Jane, is 4′ x 5′.