Portrait Painting

Born in Croatia in 1975. He was living in London, UK from 2004 to 2012. He lives and works in Zagreb, Croatia. I see myself as humanist. My main interest are people and their inner-life; their various emotional and psychological states, from self-hate and self-judging to self-acceptance and self-love. I am exploring how these various states direct relationship constellations we create between ourselves and those close to us. All my characters have awareness of their inner processes. They pass through confusions, questioning their identities in search for inner peace and an understanding of who they are. The start of my creative journey are photographs I find in fashion magazines and on the internet. It is not important "Who" are subjects of those photos as most of them represent an "image" or an "identity" which fashion magazines sell as a concept. Through the painting process I isolate the identities of my subjects by revealing their "inner qualities". It is important that the photos I use allow for a projection of my own personal story. In a way, each portrait then contains an autobiographical thread. In fashion photography, I often find references to art history, especially Western European painting. This allows for personal interpretations and symbiosis between the painting and the photo that I am using.