Artist Statement
Most of my work consists of portraits painted from old black and white photographs of complete strangers who are presumably deceased. The colors in my paintings are conjured strictly from my imagination since the images that the majority of my work is based on contain little or no color. Although, there is the occasional commissioned painting or portrait of someone I know who is living, I am typically drawn to painting portraits of those who are seemingly forgotten. If a photograph is being sold in an antique shop or at a flea market then chances are there is no one left who cares enough for the person or people in the photo to want to keep it in their possession. As time goes on we are all eventually forgotten. I would like to think that, in a way, I am memorializing the subjects in my oil paintings, even though I have never met them and know nothing about them. However, I am also moved by the eerie, melancholy and somewhat weird mood that I feel is generated from these old photographs and I think that shows in my work.
Kelli Coghlan
NP Artist Studio 