This is an early portrait study of my friend, Daniel, rendered in graphite on cartridge paper. The first things that struck me about Daniel when I met him back in the 1970s, were his pronounced aquiline features and his disturbingly “big” hair. I was to later discover that they were the legacy of his Slavic ancestry.
Daniel and I met at work and became firm friends immediately. We shared our deepest, darkest secrets together. We became so close, so quickly, there was no opportunity, or desire, for our friendship to be anything other than platonic. It was almost as though we were related. Yep, you guessed it. I had found my gay sister! Any gay man who has ever had a gay, male "sister" will know exactly what I mean by that expression.
I produced many studies of Daniel, of which this is my favourite. I went on to paint three portraits of him in oils on canvas. I will later hang two of those portraits here in the gallery.
