50×50 oil on linen

its little, 20×25 cm?

another self portrait, too cold for models anyway

13x13cm oil on panel 2011

Despite the many nude figures hung along gallery walls throughout history, on a nudist beach they seem so much more naked. There’s a definite shock factor in seeing such a diverse array of bare bodies: I went to the show with my cousin and he ran away from it, as if one of the models might suddenly jump up and drag him into the painting.

The Celeste Network supposes the work is the largest ever shown at the NationalPortrait Gallery.

On Sept. 8, the NPG will be hosting a screening of the hour-long version of “Epic Mirtiotissa.” Details to come.

Global Newsbox:

“Last year, American artist Paul Beel won the BP Travel Award and he put the money to excellent use, spending a month on the nudist beach of Miritiotissa on Corfu. The resulting polyptych – a group portrait of willing volunteers – is a tour de force”

Read the entire review here.

The London Evening Standard:

Paul Beel, 30, spent a month capturing residents and holidaymakers at Mirtiotissa after his idea won the £5,000 BP Travel Award from the National Portrait Gallery. The American arrived last September to fulfil the commission at a resort he first visited 11 years earlier on honeymoon. His work, Epic Mirtiotissa, measures 61/2 feet by 171/2 feet.

More here.

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