SIMON WEBB - Mexican portrait paintings

I was born in England in 1949. After the usual miseries of schooling, I spent a fabulously inept two years as an apprentice surveyor. One day I ran away to become an actor (I had just read a romance about medieval troubadours) and soon arrived in Vancouver, Canada, where I immediately felt at home, fell in love, and got married. It never occurred to me that I would later be living part time in Mexico and painting portraits of Mexicans ...

Although I have spent my life in the arts, as an actor, musician, writer and teacher, I only picked up a paintbrush for the first time eight years ago.  My wife had been telling me for years that I should paint, and frankly, I hadn't a clue what she was talking about; but when I saw an old box of half-used oils and brushes in a thrift store for twenty dollars, it was obviously a bargain not to be passed up... Within a few weeks, and to my utter amazement, I was painting portraits of family members. I guess my wife was right again.

 Frankie and I love Mexico - we honeymooned there, and have traveled the length and breadth by bus and train. We spend a good part of the year living in Mexico, immersed in the culture. The rich, sub-tropical light, and the warmth and humour of the people that we met, are what generated this series of character portraits. My hope is that, by using the traditional "portrait-bust" pose, attention is brought to the eyes, which are, as they say "the window on the soul".