Kenton Doupe is inspired by the people around him. The young artist made 100 portraits of friends, family and people he looks up to, and put them together for one of the new shows at the Godfrey Dean Art Gallery.
Doupe says the project began with a larger scale portrait he made for a friend, and continued as people began asking him for their picture in the same style.
"One of them said you should do it for everyone, so I said alright, and I ended up doing one for just about everyone I knew," he details.
Doupe starts with a profile picture on Facebook, and proceeds to make it into a stencil. Once that is completed, he cuts out the image and sprays the portrait. He says it takes about an hour to get the finished portrait put together.
"I started on the top of Facebook and just scroll down, writing down the people," he says.
The Dean opening was the first time Doupe saw the finished product, and he says that he's amazed at how it turned out, and the impact of seeing all the people from his life in the space. He says that he's happy about the reaction to the show.
Once this event is complete, Doupe says the portraits are going to be given to the people portrayed, and for himself he's going to continue his artwork. He says he's anticipating warmer weather so he can start doing spray paint work again, similar to the style used in the show.
