Self-Portrait in Odd’s Hat 2005

Rose Freymuth-Frazier painted this self-portrait, its date is unknown, with what looks like oil on canvas. There's a real sensitivity here in the paint handling, especially how it models the face, it feels both robust and gentle. The way she's built up the colour on the face is amazing - look closely and you see this kind of warm glow emerging through the darker tones. You can see how much Freymuth-Frazier enjoys the process of painting, the way the brushstrokes capture the light on the model’s face and hat; I love the way she allows the painting to hover between observation and invention. Check out the slightly awkward placement of the hat – it's almost as if it’s been added later and I think this gives a strange, off-kilter quality to the image. I am reminded of Alice Neel, who also had a very particular way of seeing and representing people. But with Freymuth-Frazier we see the world through a more dreamlike lens, where things are not quite as they seem.