Joe With Green Window

Joe Macdonald, recognisable from his earlier portrait in the 1976 Friends series, is sat in a chair, his body slightly twisted so that he rests his hands on its back. The rest of the room is empty except for a bright red rug which contrasts and complements the blue of his Hawaiian shirt, and the green window of the title, which could refer to either green shutters or perhaps a view of lush vegetation. David Harte, who features with Joe Macdonald in an unsettling double portrait in this series, is nowhere to be seen. The mood is at once intimate and disquieting, the sitter’s downturned face appearing pensive and solemn. The work is also a testament to Hockney’s skill with the medium of lithography, which, by using a brush dipped in tusche (diluted lithographic ink), he was able to manipulate in order to turn a quick sketch into a painterly multiple. Here he makes full use of the medium’s ability to mix colours and presents us with a vibrant scene that reflects the exotic location hinted at in the sitter’s shirt.