Man With Face Creams and Phone Plug 2019

Salman Toor painted “Man With Face Creams and Phone Plug” in his signature dreamy, soft focus using thin layers of oil paint. The grey backdrop is built from vertical strokes and feels like an overcast day. I wonder if Salman, whilst painting, ever feels like he *is* the man in the painting. I do. When I'm painting, I start to live in the world of the painting, almost as if I’m *in* it. The mood seems melancholic – the phone lies abandoned on the table next to the unguents and potions. The white plug snakes across the dark surface, almost like a lifeline. There is something about the fluidity of paint itself and how he has used it, that gives this picture its tenderness and depth. It makes me think about other painters, like Alice Neel, who are interested in capturing something of the interior life. It’s like they are inviting us to experience a shared reality.