For the artist, the idea is not to paint a model in a traditional sense, through poses and artifice, as has occurred throughout art history, but to attempt to capture an individuality, a particular presence, usually through a “non-pose,” with the model choosing to get involved or not. This distinctive approach rejects any staging by painting directly from life, far from social constructions or mediations imposed by contemporary gazes.
In this quest for immediacy, his models are not professional models, but familiar people, mostly women, whose presence and faces inspire him.