The Watcher

The Watcher started with a documentary and a slightly unusual thought: maybe I could paint a portrait after all.

I was at home in the UK, spending a few long afternoons and evenings painting, and I happened to watch a documentary about abstract art that was talking about portraits. I don't usually paint realistic portraits, so the idea of approaching one through abstraction felt much more natural to me.

That immediately made me curious. I wanted to see if I could create a face without worrying about making it realistic — more about the shape, the expression and the feeling of the person looking back at you.

I was excited by the idea while I worked on it. There was something quite satisfying about thinking, actually, I can paint a portrait… sort of. 😄

The expression was especially important to me. I wanted the gaze to feel strong and penetrating, and I spent what felt like forever working on the lips. Then came the layers — and more layers. As the painting developed, the final result started to come together in a way that was better than I expected.

What I like about The Watcher now is its shape and expression. It has that slightly strange quality that makes me stop when I walk past it and look at it for a moment.

It doesn't try to tell you exactly who this person is. There is no name, no biography and no explanation of what they're thinking. Just that gaze.

And perhaps that's enough.

Take a moment to admire it.

Dimensions: 30 × 100 × 1.5 cm
Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Signed: By Hoza