Street Credible Art

Portraits
by John Robertson

All portraits are approximately 50" x 70"  acrylic/latex on unstretched canvas

Bibi Jordan

Billy Rojas

Andre Cymone

Derrick Breakfield

Fu-Ding Cheng

Al Martinez

Phil Chen

Heather Waite

Shawn Saloman

Gabriel Gonzalez

Danny Bonaduce

Gomez from Slowrider

Video

230 portraits painted over a couple of years  Most of the  portraits
are approximately 50" x 70" acrylic/latex on unstretched canvas

To play video click on the triangle arrow at the lower left corner of the video player

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JOHN ROBERTSON EXPLORES an unconventional approach toward portraiture,
 by turning from traditional representation to emotional and psychological investigation.
 Robertson uses conflicting colors, dripping and splattered paint to create a particular
 insight. This leads to a psychological narrative and all its implications as a conceptual
representation of the subject.
 

"WHEN PAINTING A PORTRAIT a relationship is established," says Robertson.
 "I try and peel away the layers and bare their inner soul. The person knows I may
 distort their perception of themselves and understand that identity is something
more than a visual representation. I don't feel a need to reproduce a face. I'm
more interested in the idea of the person. I want to challenge people to think and
to react - but not necessarily see an exact likeness of the person." Some of the
 portraits have drawn concern about the implications of the image. Robertson
admits that, "The harsher the image the more reaction I get. Some of these portraits
 may be a little hard but most subjects appreciate my strong point of view and like
 to see themselves interpreted in this manner."