Rob Heasley Fantasy Portrait - Yves de Contades

Rob Heasley, CD, Naked Penguin Boy:
When deciding on my portrait these are the few things I wanted to portray: Set in a central London location as London has been good to me. Night is when the city is at its best. I’m colour blind & I liked the idea of being surrounded by colour with the blurred out city lights.
The cardboard illustration was basically about where my career began & where it’s at now, going from traditional illustrator to digital designer (in pixels we trust).
Dr Cecilia d'Felice's psychological interpretation:
Initially, the subject, Rob Healsey, appears confident, gazing at the viewer with a gentle humour. We then realise, however, that he is partly obscured behind a large cartoon that tells us that it is in pixels that Rob trusts. We may then question how confident he is really to be surveyed by us, the viewer, for we are not pixels but human. His vulnerability is further denoted by the large sprite with the big teeth that conceivably can protect him from our assaulting gaze, further creating a sense of barrier between him and us. The sprite has a phallic quality that cannot be ignored. Yet despite the barriers, Rob’s vulnerability makes him all too accessible, and this is perhaps the clue as to why he protects his soft underbelly.
Sensitivity is something many artists and creatives share, yet it is not always easily revealed in a competitive arena that takes no prisoners. Rob has found a way of retaining his humanity, not having to rely on ciphers of status or power to protect himself. His integrity shines in harmony with his vision: that it is in his creative work he trusts and we can be sure that he will deliver.