{"product_id":"the-face-i-show-you","title":"The Face I Show You - 90cm x 120cm - Original Oil on Canvas","description":"\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI don’t always like this painting. In fact, some days I despise it. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThere are days when I look at it and feel an enormous connection and others where I struggle to understand why I’ve kept it.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIt was built over months, through countless layers of paint, revisions, interruptions and moments of frustration. The surface is heavy with its own history and there are wrinkles, drips, scratches and marks that seem to fight against one another.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSomewhere in all that noise, something resembling a face began to emerge.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI made this painting during a period when I was also painting bright, colourful landscapes. Those paintings were full of light and beauty but this one seemed to come from somewhere else entirely. It’s built from aggression, ugliness and catharsis.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMy relationship with this painting changes depending on how comfortable I am with myself. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhen I’m comfortable being vulnerable, I find something deeply honest in it. When I’m feeling more guarded, and more concerned with how I present myself to the world, I find it difficult to look at.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePerhaps that’s what has kept me coming back to it.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIt doesn’t offer me the comfort of something beautiful or easily understood. It doesn’t ask to be liked. This painting isn’t commercially viable. You certainly wouldn’t hang it in your bedroom or living room. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI’ve lived with this painting for a long time now and I’be still never signed it. I don’t entirely know why. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBut I’ve never painted over it either. This is a painting for somebody who understands that that beauty still exists in ugly places - even when you can’t see it. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Davey Neil Art","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47446468264025,"sku":null,"price":3240.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0666\/9310\/3705\/files\/686F7E1B-EEFE-42A8-8C04-F5C98AB9FE80.jpg?v=1791863710","url":"https:\/\/daveyneil.com\/products\/the-face-i-show-you","provider":"Davey Neil Art","version":"1.0","type":"link"}