Wait (2021) Original Oil Painting by Dick van Dijk

Wait explores the fragile boundary between presence and absence. Emerging from a pale, open background, a solitary head occupies the canvas with quiet intensity. The face is recognizable, yet it resists precise definition. Areas of the face dissolve into loose brushwork, scraped surfaces, and translucent veils of paint. Soft flesh tones mingle with greys, muted blues, earthy reds, and flashes of darker pigment, creating a surface that feels simultaneously constructed and eroded.

Central to my practice is an ongoing dialogue with the materiality of paint itself. Rather than striving for realism, he allows the medium to guide the development of the image. Layers accumulate over time, leaving traces of previous decisions visible beneath the final surface. Paint is permitted to run, blur, stain, scrape, and merge, generating unexpected effects that become integral to the work. Although the work suggests an individual presence, it is not a portrait of a real person. Instead, I gradually “sculpt” the image through paint until a face emerges that holds emotional significance for me.

Materials used:

Oil paint

Details:

• Oil painting on Canvas
• One of a kind artwork
• Size: 40 x 50 x 2.5cm (unframed) / 30 x 40cm (actual image size)
• Ready to hang
• Signed on the back
• Style: Impressionistic
• Subject: People and portraits