Pose (2025) Original Oil Painting by Dick van Dijk

A defining aspect of Pose is the deliberate tension between revelation and concealment. The subject is not a depiction of a real individual but an imagined presence that emerges gradually through the act of painting. The figure is repeatedly interrupted by abstract marks, painterly passages, and fragments of color that stand between the subject and the viewer. Inspired by the male body, I approach human figures as a form to be shaped and discovered rather than faithfully represented. I continue to develop and alter the figure until it evokes an emotional response, transforming the body into a vehicle for intimacy, closeness, and quiet surrender.

The painting is exemplary of my process-driven approach in which layers of paint overlap, dissolve, and re-emerge, leaving traces of previous decisions visible beneath the surface. This generates unexpected visual discoveries that become integral to the final composition.

So maybe the painting is as much about the person as about the expressive possibilities of paint itself.

(Incidentally, this work is a reworked version of an earlier painting named 'Float', illustrating for me that I am still finding more focus and more skills to capture the image I had in my head).

Materials used:

Oil paint

Details:

• Oil painting on Canvas
• One of a kind artwork
• Size: 70 x 50 x 2cm (unframed) / 70 x 50cm (actual image size)
• Ready to hang
• Signed on the back
• Style: Impressionistic
• Subject: People and portraits