Joseph PfeifferHerbert

Artist Joseph Pfeiffer-Herbert enjoys meeting new people, learning their stories and getting to know their personalities, which is why he primarily paints portraits and figures. “When painting figures I look for an aesthetically pleasing abstract combination of shadow and light that complements the strength and beauty in the person that I am trying to represent,” says the artist, who works in both oil and watercolor.

In his oil paintings, Pfeiffer-Herbert creates dark backgrounds with the figures “glowing brightly as the center of interest, composing the whole piece with abstract shapes and color that form a cohesive image,” he says. “I treat watercolors a little differently. With watercolor I aim for lighter, more high-key images with white or light backgrounds and a strong focus on a technically accurate drawing.”

Pfeiffer-Herbert finds his watercolor compositions are more lifelike than the abstracted oil counterpart. He explains, “Being able to paint oil and watercolor, the dark and the light, the precise and the abstract, keep me feeling fulfilled and not pigeonholed into any one area of focus.”

When working with and photographing models, Pfeiffer-Herbert spends his time talking to the person and learning about them. “I carry this idea of their personality through the whole painting process. For instance, in the piece Inner Light I saw Jordan, the model, as calm, a little bit soft spoken and mysterious with a strong luminescence glow around her,” he says. “It seemed fitting to have a burst of light radiating from her.”