Note on Portraits
My portraits are made from life. The process is a collaboration. In important ways, the subject projects himself into the painting. We make the painting together. We talk and listen to music. Almost universally my subjects say they benefited from the opportunity to slow down and spend time in a situation conducive to conversation and reflection. I always work with the amount of time the sitter will devote and I have made many paintings in one sitting. Typically, a sitting is six hours with a break for lunch. A portrait on canvas takes four or five sittings and allows me to build a more substantial and nuanced representation. In the end I want the painting to contain an alive presence. I am interested in character and mood. And I always want the qualities of the painting itself, the surface, texture, background and composition, to be considered. |
I have long made portraits as one part of my painting program. Many have been made at my invitation, people I have wanted to paint: family, friends and others I admire. Also, I accept commissions and welcome them.