When I first saw Anthony I knew that I had to paint him. My painting is in a hyperrealism style which means that I paint every small detail as close to reality as possible. Every small detail on Anthony’s face tells a story and as well as an Artist I want my work to tell a story.
I met Anthony in 2021 in Leicester Square, London. Anthony has been homeless on the streets of London for a considerable period of time. I found Anthony to be a really warm and approachable guy. We sat and spoke for ages as he told me of his past, his friends on the street and all the famous people that he had met. He never stopped smiling, he never said a negative word and gave me warm and helpful advice about my art career. The thing with Anthony is I could never tell what emotion he was actually experiencing. His eyes were a puzzle, one moment I saw great sadness and fear and in the next split second I saw joy and happiness.
The eyes are the heartbeat of my work, everything flows from the eyes. Once I have painted the eyes I know what background to add. The background is a mix of dark and colourful squares, a mix of emotions, the same as Anthony’s eyes.
Once I had created the broad outline and painted the background I started using tiny one haired brushes to add the detail to the artwork. I hope that the person viewing this painting will appreciate the detail and see something different every time they view the painting. I hope it changes in front of their eyes just as life changes.
If you would like to commission a portrait please contact James by email james@jamesearleyartist.com or by mobile 0044 7551616352
