Artist, Self Portrait 2020

This is a self-portrait by Jammie Holmes, made with acrylic and oil stick on canvas. It has a really interesting colour palette, this mix of muted greys, blues and beiges punctuated by bright flashes of colour—it looks like the artist has worked on it over a period of time, building up layers, scraping some back, adding new ones. I’m drawn to the scrawled, almost graffiti-like marks around the figure; they remind me of Cy Twombly. I wonder if Holmes was thinking about him? And how the material qualities of oil paint let you see his intentions, his thoughts, his doubts? I can almost feel him deciding where to make the next mark. How do you know when a painting is finished? There's this ‘Slow Children Playing’ sign in the corner, it's kind of eerie, juxtaposed with the figure. There's also a halo around his head—the overall effect is really striking. You know, painters are constantly riffing off each other's ideas across time, creating this ongoing conversation. It is like a dance of ideas—it makes you realise that painting is as much about questioning as it is about knowing.