Part of the series "Eye Smile" By Marion Bolognesi

What does this painting say to you? What are the first words to come to mind when you see this? What kinds of feelings does it give off?

To me, this painting gives off the essence of mystery and sadness. The fact that only the top part of the faces are painted, specifically the eyes and the nose makes me think of masquerade masks. And of course when you wear a mask, you hide your identity either literally or symbolically, or maybe even both. When you stare into the eyes on the portrait, what do you feel? I feel a strong intensity and focus, since the eyes are looking directly at the viewer. It is almost as if the characters in the portrait know something. But what? Those are some of the type of questions that go through my mind. 

I also love how the painting makes the watercolors drip down from the eyes, making it look like tears. This is where I got the idea of sadness or mourning. I thought, maybe the mystery and sadness are connected somehow.

This painting is actually part of a series of watercolor paintings called "Eye Series" by Marion Bolognesi. They are all mainly focusing on the eyes, nose or the mouth; the more prominent features of the face. Those features are what makes you notice and recognize different people. Here is another example of a painting from his collection.

Part of the series "Eye Smile" By Marion Bolognesi in collaboration with Zach Johnsen

You can immediately tell that this painting is very different from the one above. Here, he collaborates with the artist Zach Johnsen to create more of a cartoon-ish, surreal and deathly looking portrait using the same materials and style of painting. Compared to the top one, which uses a variety of brighter colors and a simple portrait of two eyes, this painting uses skulls, a man's eyes and nose, as well as a masked cartoon character. The colors are less vibrant and bright, and there are not only watercolor drippings, but there are also splatters. As you can see, there is more going on in this picture compared to the other.

It gives off a totally different feeling than the first one. There is less mystery and intensity since the eyes of the characters in the portrait are not focused on the viewer. It gives me the sense of heroism, bravery and risk despite chances of death. I used the different pictures in this painting to think of those words. The man looking at the distance and parallel to him is a masked character. What if that is his alter-ego? The mystery of these type of portraits and the theme of hiding yourself could be the focus. The skulls remind me of death that maybe the man and his masked persona could be facing.

Of course, that's only my idea of what this portrait could mean. Everyone has their own idea and story of different paintings, and no idea is considered wrong. This is what I mean about the freedom of artwork and expression and their relation.

What do these paintings say to you?