For the majority of my art career, I steered away from portraits. I really only drew them when I had to–mostly because it was that time of year to teach portraits to my students. Then covid happened. I don’t know what really possessed me to paint that first portrait. Maybe it was the boredom. Or perhaps it was the isolation. All I know is it was a positive thing that came from a trying time. It was the beginning of a love affair with the subject matter and being able to call myself a “Portrait Artist”.
I’ve played around with different styles, color palettes, processes, and muses over the past 5 years, eventually landing where I am today. I began by only painting myself, eventually moving on to showcasing other women. I chose women because I thought they were more interesting and more “beautiful” than men. I was wrong. I soon discovered men’s faces to be interesting and beautiful too.
My current series of portraits is one I call “the Object Series.” I like to slightly exaggerate features and experiment with color and background textures where I can. And of course, I add my signature uneven eye bags. This started as experimentation in my sketchbook practice and since has become part of my work. One of my favorite aspects of each painting is picking out the “right” object to go in the background. I like them to feel random, but at the same time make total sense with the subject of the portrait. Occasionally I have the object in mind before I start, but more often it develops as the person comes alive through the painting process.
