I decided to try the silhouette for the coffee series. There is also one in sepia with extreme detail. I find the extreme detail ones gritty like the coffee plantation, where the labour to produce coffee "is not for the fragile people" as Jacques Prevert said in his poem "Planter cafe".
The silhouette is more abstract and elegant. I don't think it's sanitized, just different. For me the silhouette leaves questions unanswered; preserves an element of mystery. In the era of reality shows, which are heavily written and directed, I think we could use a dose of mystery, just to preserve an element of wonder. We don't need to know everything. We can't anyway. Reality, like reality shows, is an illusion.
Speaking of illusion, I may start a new self portrait in oil. I am going to try a new approach; taking my time. Some of may favourite painters apparently spent at least three months on every picture. So if I miss the occasional post, that's where I am.
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