“The Regulars” is a body of work that I created about the people who work at and frequent the Vintage Wine Bar & Restaurant in Redding, California. “The Vintage”, as the locals call it, has long been dedicated to the visual, musical and culinary arts of Northern California, and this series of portraits, in charcoal and pastel, is about the people who give that place its flavor.
Every place has four walls, but I think it’s the people who make a place. Always the people. Those drinks-after-work-type-folks who keep a bar going and give it its character. It was those “regulars” that I sought out. In many ways, they are archetypal to all bars and restaurants and that is what I hoped to capture in these portraits.
In all my work, I never felt more connected to my artistic forbears as I have with this project. It’s been a really surprising outcome of my “Regulars” experience. I often felt as if I were in the shoes of the court painters who have come before me. With the stroke of a single line I possess the power to flatter or not. It’s an artistic double-edged sword fraught with perils and pearls.
