Art Exhibit: "Behind the Mask": Portraits by Pete Gillespie

"I interview strangers and attempt to capture in color and composition the emotion that I felt during the conversation. I work from photographs. Each painting is accompanied by a collection of quotes from our conversation. My goal is to help the viewer see the person the way I see them. We all have stories from our past and hopes for the future. We have wisdom acquired from experience. The stories often go untold because nobody asks. We have resilience, fortitude, hope, creativity… My program would be to highlight some of the individuals that I've painted, tell their story, describe the emotional reaction that I had during the conversation, and offer people a chance to be inspired by these individuals." 

-Pete Gillespie