Mark Vazquez-Mackay The people who enter my studio and who are
represented in my work are not models. They are everyday people
who exchange their time for a painting or who simply want the
experience of sitting for an artist. I encourage my sitters to
create their own poses and consider what they want to
communicate about themselves; what ends up on the canvas is a
conversation between me, the sitter and the spectator. Mine is a
humanist practice based on the observation of my environment,
the surroundings of my studio and the people who come into it.
Beyond the four walls of this intimate environment, my paintings
engage the spectator, often anticipating the presence of—and
making a space for--an observer. Since we only really know who
we are by virtue of how we relate to others, this is how I come
to understand my own reality - the reality of how I exist within
the environment that includes other people and the physical
world. My work therefore demands the most honest and, quite
literally, naked approach. I