Emerging from Obscurity

 "Obscured" 4’ X 4' Acrylic and Oil on canvas. 2001
Smaller than Tangerine, but easily twice as much paint (and twice as heavy), Obscured was my second large-scale work at PAFA. The intensive figure drawing and painting courses where beginning to have an effect on my paintings as I struggled to define my figures more, yet still throw paint. Since college I had done very little actual brushwork, opting for painting knives and other implements. I set up a challenge for myself in that the center of the eye is directly in the center of the square. Establishing a super-strong focal point, I then tried to pull the view out away from that point. Successful or not, it was the first piece that I entered in a juried art show upon returning to the Pacific Northwest. It was picked for final selection in the South Sounds 2000 Exhibition and received a favorable review from local art critic Lisa Gunter: 

Perhaps one of the most visually striking pieces of SS 2001 is Scott Michael Anstett's painted portraiture "Obscured." A 4' X 4' oil on canvas, Anstett stacks and peels layers and layers on top of each other with vivid blues, greens and reds combining for an alluring yet faintly disguised look into the women depicted.

To purchase a reproduction of this work visit my online store at https://society6.com/product/obscured-zpl_print#s6-1060377p4a1v46