Friday Evening

Painting, Acrylic on Linen

Size: 120 W x 80 H x 5 D cm

In this painting, I invite the viewer to contemplate the implied narrative of this scene. I was struck by the way in which each of the characters is looking away from one another, absorbed in their own world, yet physically close, all seated at the same table. It’s an irony that, often in social spaces, people can often seem so alone whilst together. 

I wanted to evoke the warmth of the pub interior, the busyness and bustle, but also the moments of quiet isolation within that noise. Painting, in parts, with more rendered figuration and, in others, with looser, more gestural brushwork, I hoped to achieve this feeling.  

I wanted to draw the viewer's attention to each of the figures, perhaps particularly that of the lady in the centre, who looks so lost, and invite them to reflect on the possible connection, or the absence of it, between them.