A Contemporary Portrait Series

Ink & Oil — Once relegated to sailors, criminals, and performers, tattoos have become ubiquitous in society. Whether to commemorate a life event, satisfy an impulse, make a bold, personal statement, or forever wear a private talisman, the reasons for getting tattoos are as varied as the people who wear them.

This stunning series of larger-than-life portraits explores the men and women of all ages and all walks of life, who have chosen to express their inner thoughts, desires, outrage, views, feelings, and loves, with this form of self-expression. Free spirits. Police officers. Bikers. Musicians. Preachers. Punks. Veterans. Each individual piece seeks to capture a gesture or trait that offers a clue into the subject’s own personality beyond their body art. In short, the works are canvasses of people who are themselves canvasses.

“The liveliness and play with colours in Brian’s portraits grace the bodies in the paintings through tattoos. It seems to give them wisdom and strength, something from their past to hold on to, without taking over. . .”
                                                                 Magdalena Riegler, Art Ascent magazine, February 2022

See the work