Painting commission portraits for the artist may be less about the finished product of a painting, as more about listening to people’s stories. As you might expect, people seeking portraits typically want to see their best memories captured – photos taken of them and their loved ones from their wedding, or a memorable vacation, or a pristine hair day (to quote Fleabag, “hair is everything.”).
But the best portraits, the ones that catch a glimmer of the human spirit, are the ones that pull at the strings of reality.
Some people asked to be painted in odd and whimsical ways – riding unicorns, or as seahorses, or with giant sea monsters approaching behind them. And sometimes, people wanted to see or be painted with someone who hadn’t existed with them at the same time – a sister who never made it to adulthood, a child who lost her brave fight against cancer, or photos of people – taken decades apart – paired together to create a day that never really happened.
There’s a magic to capturing a moment that never occurred. It’s alchemy
