How I See The World

The most common question I receive and the most commented on facet of my portrait work is about the eyes of my subjects. They are soulful, they are direct, they are riveting.

For the longest time I have been unable to say more about this other than my obvious thanks and appreciation of my efforts.

I have even teased I should just paint eyes as they are so very key to any portrait I paint.

Over the course of the last few months I have been taking stock of where I am with my art. Do I still feel portraits are my main focus? Have I found perhaps what I am looking for? Have I said all I have to say with my portraits? Is it time to move on from portraiture?

And the answer is that I have not done enough. I have not reached deeply enough. I have not seen enough. There is so much more to explore, so much more for me to say.

I did come to a conclusion though about why my eyes are the way they are. What I am trying to see and voice with each set that I paint. It is this:

I paint what I see. I paint what I feel. I paint what I know is there.

There is a soul in each set of eyes I encounter. It matters not that they are from a photograph or from my imagination. We are human and we have depths that can only be reached by looking deeply at the unique and beautiful person behind and within that set of eyes.

I am not done searching!