David Benavidez Painting

I am a British painter living in China. I use travel and the places and people I've seen as an inspiration for much of my work. I am very drawn to the idea of "place" and how various characters live in these environments. My work often explores light and movement in time and I use various techniques to suggest this (dragging paint, smearing it or distressing the surface of the canvas itself). I am primarily interested in creating a mood in my work which will change according to the process. Often the inspiration will serve as a starting point. I like to suggest things with the faces of the characters I paint without spelling anything out explicitly. I enjoy the mystery that an expression might hold or the ambiguity a distorted image might imply. I am currently working on developing a series of large portraits based around characters I've known in the past.