New Guinea Man - Original oil painting  -  34" x 42" is painted on portrait linen canvas - a favorite for fine detail.  This painting is stretched on heavy duty stretcher bars about 1.5" thick for best support of the stretched canvas.   The painting is ready for framing. 

About this Painting -  There were a couple of reasons I was initially inspired to paint this painting.   I had been wanting to challenge myself as an artist with painting hands because I had heard it was thought to be one of the most difficult and challenging things to do. I had also been toying with the idea of painting a portrait because the only people I had painted thus far where much smaller, secondary ‘characters’ in a painting.  

About this time, a close friend returned from an adventurous family vacation – to New Guinea.  He came back with many beautiful photos.  I was so impressed by the attire and the look of the fully costumed native people that I thought  ‘Ah ha! -  Now THAT would be a fun - and colorful - type of portrait to paint.’  

This painting tested my skills with the hand and arm – which I am very pleased with - and the finely detailed hair, headdress and other adornments were challenges in their own ways. 

In my initial drawing of this image, I decided to place this man in a mysterious misty land with the planet Jupiter in the sky.  My thought with those choices was addressing in my mind in some artful way -  the question - 'Where do these special people come from?' – feeling like in comparison to the life I know and have been exposed to- that this seemed so far from my experience ... like another planet!

I hope you enjoy!