FREEING CURRENCY PORTRAITS

I have created the Currency Portraits because it is an international series for everyone everywhere. I begin with an image that is printed on a utilitarian object and develop it into fine art. The process combines a life time of traditional art experience with decades of using computer art software. I am not an illustrator or animator. I create fine art.

I paint with traditional mediums such as oils, acrylic, watercolor, and the additional digital medium. By choosing the mosaic format it allows me to incorporate the various mediums into a style which expresses the portraits in a way that no single medium is capable of achieving.

I “free” the portrait from the banknote because the image represents a particular country’s history and it is a social statement which makes the image the most interesting part of the currency. The image also represents a monetary value but that aspect varies within and between countries. An example of a varying value within a country is the same portrait of Gandhi on several currencies that differ in value and colors.

My fine art currency portraits give the viewer a different perspective of an image they routinely see and use without much thought. It “frees” the image from its original state to become a fine art creation. One can compare the two and appreciate the immense difference.