These works are not traditional portraits. Rather than focusing on likeness, they explore the emotional and psychological presence of the observed subject within their own space. Each painting considers how time shapes identity, often revealing the subject across multiple periods of their life through layered or repeated imagery.
The earliest pieces capture unplanned, everyday moments. Works such as Celeste Reading, Girl Shawn, and Peeking emerged during a transitional period influenced by Pop Art’s elevation of ordinary life, bringing attention to quiet gestures and unguarded scenes.
Later works gather new components. As the work evolves, the new painterly elements become more pronounced—layered, with saturated color; fragmented surfaces reminiscent of collage; and a heightened attention to compositional structure. Objects, symbols, and even lettering (as in Her Again) carry equal weight to the face itself. Meaning is straightforward for each object. These elements are observed with the same direct attention. These paintings function less as portraits and more as a kind of staged theater of viewing, a stage where the subject’s presence is revealed through the accumulated visual cues of directly observed elements.
Throughout the series, the edges of the canvas remain active, expanding the emotional space and reinforcing the sense that each figure exists within a larger environment. These works trace a long investigation into how the human image can hold memory, tension, and depth beyond representation.
Figurative Portraits
Richard L Tuck
Fragments, oil on canvas, 16x20) -year 2017
The Boys, oil on canvas, 16x20”, (not available for purchase) - year 2019
Peeking, pencil on rag paper, 9X18” -year 1977
Self, pencil on rag paper, 18x24” (sold - private collection) - year 1976
Charlie (below) a life story with mystery - spread far and wide with much of it unknown by the people that knew him.
Mr. Charlie, oil on canvas, 16x20, (not available for purchase) - year 2019
Her Again (Celeste), oil on canvas, 18x24”, (not available for purchase) - year 2019
Self, pencil drawing, 11x14” -year 1985
Looking, oil on board, 16x20”, (sold - public collection) year 1976
The Women (below) are connected by time, identity and shared purpose
Mothers, oil on canvas, 18x24”, not available for purchase - year 2019
Self- pastels on rag paper, 18x24” - year 1979
Celeste Reading, pencil on rag paper, 14x18” - 1977
Girl Shawn, pencil on rag paper, 18x24”, (sold - private collection) -1975
Mrs. Mary (below) a gentle unassuming manner - tracks of life in her face
Mrs. Mary, oil on canvas, 24x30” - year 2022
At Times, oil on canvas, 18x24”, (not available for purchase) - year 2019
Young Child, pencil on paper, 9x12” - year 1975