Mark Fairnington - Childhood Now,
at Compton Verney, Warwickshire.
Fairnington applies a scientific process of collection, documentation and observation to the production of his portraits. The artist developed this approach whilst painting insect specimens, where multiple photographs were used to generate images which detailed and complex surfaces. Fairnington's paintings are also informed by past art historical practices. The paintings of his sons' eyes are inspired by the 18th century 'Lover's Eye' miniatures that were exchanged by George IV and Maria Fitzherbert.
Despite his intimate familiarity with his two identical twin sons, Fairnington has described how, when painting them, his primary intimacy is with the touch of the brush on the painted surface, and not with the subjects themselves. This objective distance from the boys recalls Lucian Freud's stance when painting his family, and his belief that sentimentality could ruin an artist's paintings of his children.
Lee, 2013, (oil on panel)
Jason, 2013, (oil on panel)
Jason (Grey), 2014, (oil on panel)
Lee (Green), 2013, (oil on panel)
Lee and Jason, 2011, (oil on panel)
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