Seeking the Soul: Weimin Mo.

These paintings are by the Chinese-American artist Weimin Mo. What struck me were the eyes.  When I clicked on the thumbnails portrait after portrait opened with the eyes painted expressively. These works are reprinted here with Mr.Mo’s permission.

The subject of this portrait has a strength of character in the eyes that is confirmed by a strong chin, cheekbones, and nose.  

If this guy isn't American then the species doesn’t exist.  His “shades” are casually parked on his head, his nose is sunburnt, he looks like a lifeguard.  And in his eyes is the look of a typical young, American, male who is uncomfortable at being painted.  He is not the “artsy” type.

This woman shows in her eyes the weariness of age that her white hair betrays.  

This painting is my favorite because the subject appears to me to have the most complex character and Mr. Mo’s skill as the artist in bringing out that complexity is called upon more. She looks at Mr. Mo head-on, squarely.  She is the only one of the six people in this group to do that.  The others look away or turn their faces slightly, in modesty and discomfort as with “the lifeguard,” in weariness as with "the elder."  There is no false modesty in this woman.  She is confident and strong, almost intimidating.  She is also the only one in this group who is depicted in full-body.  Her arms are open--not inviting but unafraid--and her legs are casually positioned.  Goodness gracious. Make that intimidating, not "almost."  What an arresting portrait.

                     A distinguished older gentleman smoking his pipe while reading. A classic portrait.

This young woman has the opposite look of the female "CEO" in number four above: she glances to the side as if startled.

The saying goes, “the eyes are the windows to the soul," and I have been seeking the soul.  Mr. Weimin Mo has captured the soul of these people. The Impressionistic style and colors make these paintings pleasing to the eye too.  These are just six of Mr. Mo's paintings that I chose as illustrative of his portfolio. Those interested in purchasing or seeing more examples may contact the artist directly at Weimin_Mo@Yahoo.com.