Portrait
30 x 22"
Watercolor on Saunders Waterford paper
I love painting from life, especially when painting people. There's something that happens between us, a chemistry that only affects the model, the painter, and the brush. It flows from heart to hand to paper. Often, the model triggers memories. Good, bad, they flood through me, come out the colors of sadness and strength, joy and loss. I get lost in the model's face or hands, his eyes. Her tiny, crooked half-smile. Painting people builds bridges from me to him to you to me. Loss came out in the brush strokes here. Depth of character built his face. Hope and knowledge born of long, full years painted his eyes and filled my heart. That's what it's like to paint someone. That's why it's my favorite thing to do.
