Friends, Strangers & Empty Spaces
Nicole Jeffords (2021)
This is a drawing of Prentiss Douthit, a friend of mine who is an excellent painter. His work is loose, quick, easy, and the way he goes about showing it is innovative -- he’ll rent a space for a night, put up a bunch of paintings, do a little PR, and presto! The show sells out.
Recent paintings by Prentiss Douthit
His most recent canvases are all of strangers he stopped to photograph and talk to when he was out taking walks and exploring new neighborhoods. Prentiss is also a writer, and paintings are often accompanied by accounts of the subjects’ stories and adventures Prentiss might have had while on one of his journeys, whether on a road or camping trip, or closer to home.
Prentiss Douthit | Oil on Linen | 24”x30”
I am in awe of Prentiss and the quick, gestural way he paints. The empty spaces in his canvases call to me, a painter who can take weeks, even months on a canvas. For this reason, I love the Alice Neel portrait below, and used it as an excuse to feature intentionally unfinished work a few years ago when I was under pressure to complete a bunch of paintings for a show.
“Black Draftee” by Alice Neel
Emil, Psychotherapist (A Secret Grave Series) | Oil on Canvas | 24”x18”
I also did a drawing of Prentiss without his glasses on.
Nicole Jeffords (2021)
Nude, his face is completely different, almost like another person. I don’t think I captured him that well minus glasses, so I shall probably attempt another drawing soon.
