After the Fall #6 of 9

The subject of this series is the (retired) Chief Theatre Critic for the New York Times and also my cousin. He had taken a very bad, potentially life-threatening fall. His partner took photos of him, one per day. They showed the damage caused and the incredible colours that appeared in the healing process. He asked me to paint this series for him, which I refused initially as an impossible task, but I agreed to look at the photos when sent by the partner. Eventually I found it a totally fascinating assignment. To my great surprise, the paintings carry far more emotional weight than the original photos did. I think there are two reasons. One is that I have known him all my life and so am very familiar with his face and his expressions. Secondly, the fall could have killed him, and I could see that he had had looked mortality in the face and did not like the experience. No one would like such an encounter, but there was a clarity of expression in his face that showed it so clearly I was fascinated. I called the series "David Fights with the Devil" but he preferred "After the Fall," which is OK with me. He chose the way to present the series (see photo) and I like the way he's done so.