Authentic Gaze

Enquire about this work

For availability, shipping, payment or further information, please contact the atelier.

Authentic Gaze began with a small exchange. When a friend asked my daughter why she wasn't smiling, she simply replied, “This is my normal face.”

That moment stayed with me. It made me think about how quickly we interpret another person's expression, and how often a smile is expected as a sign of openness, happiness or reassurance.

Drawn in graphite, the work portrays my daughter in a moment of stillness, looking directly towards the viewer. Her expression is neither performed nor adjusted for the expectations of someone looking at her. She simply allows herself to be seen as she is.

The surrounding paper remains largely untouched, allowing the figure to emerge quietly from the surface. Rather than explaining what she might be thinking or feeling, Authentic Gaze leaves her expression unresolved.

For me, the drawing is also an intimate record of my daughter at a particular moment in her childhood — an attempt to hold something of her presence before time changes it.

Title: Authentic Gaze
Year: 2023
Medium: Graphite on paper
Dimensions: 60 × 80 cm (23.6 × 31.5 in)
Framing: Unframed
Signature: Signed by the artist
Certificate of Authenticity: Included

Shipping & Packaging

The work will be carefully packed and shipped from my studio in Glasgow.

Tracked and insured shipping will be arranged where possible. Please allow a few days for careful preparation before dispatch.

International shipping is available. For overseas delivery quotes or further information, please contact the atelier directly via email.