behind the mask
2009

"I have this year begun a new series of portrait work that I am at this point titling Behind the Mask. Throughout my 19-year professional art career, my three-feet-square realistic portraits of young childrens’ faces have become my most popular paintings. These unique contemporary portraits are recognized throughout the U.S., particularly for capturing the eyes. The larger than life, very direct compositions are the perfect format for a young child’s angelic face. I had previously forfeited my thoughts of painting adult faces so realistically on these large canvases until the idea of the masks surfaced in my mind. I have for many years been intrigued with masks, which go back to ancient times. My interests range from the purely fun, to the amusement or concealment of Venetian style masks, to the historical masks of the theatre, different countries and cultures, and even to masks as magical, cultural ceremonial rites of passage, which sometimes reveal the sacred. I am fascinated with the simultaneous juxtaposition and blurring of illusion and reality that the mask and the underlying face provide. Having the models select their mask adds a certain depth of mystery to the veil, which is offset by the realistic, illuminated human eyes.”

Keith Bland