Don Bachardy is a man of many faces.
Still creating at 81, his life remains as colorful as his paintings.
Bachardy, the renowned Santa Monica portrait artist, had his first solo exhibition in San Diego County at the Southwestern College Art Gallery, titled “Hollywood: Paintings & Drawings.”
On the show’s opening, surrounded by portraits of Hollywood icons teeming with color, Bachardy gave a brief talk followed by a Q&A.
Bachardy almost exclusively draws and paints people, a fascination that he said is rooted in the power of people’s faces.
“I paint faces because of that ability of people to look closely at themselves and others and for them to tell you who they are, not only with what they say, but how they look,” he said. “I believe, like Oscar Wilde illustrated in ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray,’ that how you live your life changes your face, changes your whole body.”
Vallo Riberto, SWC gallery director, said he first encountered Bachardy’s work in a book, titled “Last Drawings of Christopher Isherwood.” The book illustrates a series of heartfelt drawings of the late English novelist Christopher Isherwood, after he was diagnosed with cancer.
“It’s probably some of the strongest work that Don has done,” he said. “The quality of his line shows what a master draftsman he is. His lines are exciting, varied and have a lot of energy. They are very powerful and direct.”
MOTION PICTURE STILL LIVES — Don Bachardy signs an autograph after he spoke during the opening of his exhibition, “Hollywood: Paintings & Drawings.”
Isherwood and Bachardy met in Santa Monica in 1950.
Their relationship shaped their art, said Bachardy.
“Chris inspired me by simply being himself and telling me what art really is,” he said. “He made it very clear to me that experience is worth the effort to record it. He recorded people with his writing. I record them with my painting.”
Portraits of Hollywood legends gazed stoically across the SWC Art Gallery, each revealing a small part of their subject.
Each portrait seemingly created with ease. Their bare structure revealed meaningful, mature brush strokes that were done with acrylics, ink and pencil.
Bachardy’s simple aesthetic is what Assistant Professor of Art Nicholas Muller said makes Bachardy’s portraits innovative and exciting works of art.
“They have this very Egon Schiele feel to them and possess such wonderful personality,” he said. “I love his use of the page and the inclusion of the white space of the page into the drawings, and the way sometimes these figures sort of dissolve into the background.”
Some of the works bleed in full-strength color, while others subtly reveal Bachardy’s remarkable draftsmanship and signature line work in black and white with ink and pencil.
Bachardy said that he developed his unique artistic style by studying other artists he admired.
“If you want to be an artist, tune in to yourself and find those whose work you admire and study it very closely, and that’ll give you and awful lot of information,” he said.
Bachardy was received by students, staff and art lovers like a rock star. After the talk and Q&A, a crowd gathered around the artist, waiting for him to sign programs, posters and copies of his new book, “Hollywood,” that includes many of the works exhibited at the showing.
Riberto said Bachardy’s visit to SWC signals that the community is broadening its cultural base.
“The fact that we can bring someone of (Bachardy’s) notoriety here and exhibit his work, means that Chula Vista is coming of age in terms of culture,” he said. “We have a world-class gallery that has the same layout as the old Whitney Museum on Madison. Our 2,600 square feet of exhibition space is a wonderful art venue for San Diego and rivals any gallery across the nation.”
Bachardy has made a name for himself in the art world, drawing and painting one person at a time, from writers to politicians, other artists, directors, musicians and movie stars. Each portrait is carefully crafted in person because, Bachardy said, he never renders a portrait from a photograph.
“Photographs are dead,” he said. “They’re pictures of an event that’s already occurred. I create my own event by having a live sitter in front of me.”
Bachardy said he does not look for anything in particular in his subjects, but rather, allows his subjects to tell him what to look for.
“All I demand from my sitter is to concentrate and to look at me and tell me what to look for, but I don’t have any preconceived ideas,” he said. “I’m looking for the identity of my sitter. My sitter tells me who he is by allowing me to inspect his face. If you believe that, it’s a very good way to live your life, because we all want to look our best, and maybe if we are kind to other people that will show up in our faces – I think it will.”