2019 

watercolor on paper 

20 x 15 inches

ET TU BRUTE [HOPE UNLIMITED]

Between 2014-2019, 70 artists and writers individually came for portrait sittings in either watercolor on paper or oil on canvas in Prudence Whittlesey's studio. Each watercolor sitting resulted in 6 -12 paintings on paper.

2018

watercolor on paper

25 x 21 inches

Whittlesey considers these to be portraits, and indeed the sitters invariably find themselves in the paintings. In general, however, they may be considered non-figurative work. In fact, these paintings are highly abstract figural responses to the silent intersubjective exchange between the sitters and Whittlesey. 

2019

watercolor and sumi ink on paper

16 x 16 inches

From this massive body of work, Whittlesey selected paintings to develop further for the series titled Et Tu Brute [Hope Unlimited]. In this case, she now painted in the absence of the sitter. Her specific intention was to manipulate the edges between abstraction and figuration in order to mine the painting for evidence of character. 

2019

watercolor and sumi ink on paper

17 x 15 inches

Whittlesey consciously interacts with the original live compositions, intent to preserve the emotional dimension and personally resonant aspects that she and the sitter discussed at the sitting.

2019

watercolor and sumi ink on paper

15 x 15.5 inches

The original painting now serves as a marker for memory of the actual sitting experience, and as both a trigger and a guide for empathic imagination.

2019

watercolor and sumi ink on paper

13.5 x 13 inches