Paintings of Photos

PAINTINGS OF PHOTOS

In my search for subjects to paint, I have collected what amounts to a disorganized archive of photographs. I have acquired various kinds of photographic subject matter, such as film stills and theatrical publicity material, but the bulk of the material is ‘wire’ photography from press agencies dating from World War Two. When the painting is complete, I often roll the photograph and present it with its painted representation within the frame

ALBUMARCHIVE from Ian Everard on Vimeo.

The ‘wire’ photographs were transmitted from theaters of war to press agencies and newspapers in major cities across the world. They are not hard to find. Many antique stores in the Northern California region where I live have pictures of the European, North African and Asian theaters of war. I am particularly drawn to the crowd scenes. In the process of painting, I encounter faces I'd initially overlooked. The sense of recognition is haunting - vestigial images of people one might know, caught up in the upheavals of human conflict. As this series has continued, my interest in the material has shifted and deepened. In part, this has to do with an appreciation for the experience of my parents (my mother extinguishing incendiary bombs on rooftops during the Blitz in London; my father stationed in Afghanistan, Northern India (now Pakistan) and Burma (now, Myanmar)), but inferences to our present unsettled times are, clearly, unavoidable - the images and even the place names of these conflict zones are familiar from the current news.

I have not categorized or collated my collection - it is not in my nature to do so. I remember where these pictures are. I keep them close at hand in my workspace, to gaze at from time to time - maybe to select one and begin to paint.

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