What began as an experiment in a purely abstract style eventually transformed into something altogether surprising..
Original 11x14" mixed-technique painting by David Heskin, 2013
Through many years of immersion in the tradition of the Mischtechnik (alternating layers of egg tempera & oil glazes as per the lineage of the late Viennese artist Ernst Fuchs) I became more and more interested in the subtle optical effects produced by the layering of color, rather than mixing on the palette.
While the goal of most of the artists in this tradition is to create object or tangible scenes, I first wanted to understand what the colors would do when all subject matter was absent, in order to be witnessed in a pure state. This experiment resulted in the background of Mona Prima: an organic vibrational pattern created with only a primary triad and white..a style of painting that I have dubbed "Mana Prima". See more purely abstract Mana Prima paintings here.
I had no idea that there would eventually be a portrait integrated into the abstract forms, but I just so happened to be simultaneously working on a drawing of Michelangelo's Pieta. Some of the shapes in the abstract background perfectly suggested the shape of the face and chin, and It became clear what was to happen next..
Using a minimal amount lead white paint to chisel the portrait into form, Mona Prima was born.
Since then she has become part of the family, hanging on the walls of the studio for the past 4 years, representing a deep integration of wildly divergent artistic genres.