Bearman Paisley Jackie, 24" x 32", oil on canvas, 1983. Private collection.

This is the final version of The Bearman series. The paisley patterned sketch book in The Bearman's lap was rendered after one of my sketchbooks at the time. The woman's head at the right was appropriated from a painting by Picasso. The composition achieves its intrigue through the formal triangulation of the sketch book, the woman's head facing The Bearman, and The Bearman's head facing the woman. The interplay between the female's omnipresent gaze, and the "masked" eyes of The Bearman, is the most provocative element in the composition in terms of bringing together its overall structure and meaning.