Battleground | War Paint Series

Battleground, oil on canvas by Paul Richmond

Battleground is the newest addition to my War Paint series. The original painting is available through the Lyman-Eyer Gallery and limited-edition prints are available in my online store.

Here are some detail shots.

Battleground (detail)

Battleground (detail)

Battleground (detail)

Battleground (detail)

I recently completed my artist statement about the series:

WAR PAINT
“They understand only too well the liberation into savagery that the concealing paint brought.” –Lord of the Flies, William Golding 

 Body painting has significance in many cultures and serves a variety of purposes from spiritual cleansing to battle preparation. My War Paint series draws upon this rich symbolism to investigate the construction of identity. In these paintings, the modern masculine form becomes the canvas, a painted object of his own creation. Reality and abstraction compete within the figurative foundation of each piece to make the subjects’ inner struggles more tangible. The application of pigment is suggestive of their psychological states, the color of their self-made armor exposing more than it conceals. This work also challenges conventions around masculinity and the male form. By deconstructing and rebuilding the figure, my goal is to invite understandings that reach beyond the immediate surface and reveal the complexity of the individual.