What makes a good portrait.

What cannot be described in words must then be described with a brush. A powerful account which seeps into the consciousness of the viewer in a way a camera never could. It is a chance for the artist to objectively peer into the soul of another, to stand in their shoes for a moment and to see a piece of yourself reflecting back. If you sit with someone long enough, you begin to go beyond and see more deeply. You see a shared human experience. You begin to tap into an intelligence which you both share, sitter and artist.

By observing another human being we understand how closely we are all connected– similarities and differences. Portraiture must then be about having empathy for others. Maybe the world would be a better place if we all could spend vast amounts of time looking into each others' eyes with a clear purpose of better understanding one another and the integral part we all play. As an artist, I can't help but to think how much greater an understanding I have for a person after having had studied them for several hours. I begin to understand their true nature and their potential purpose. I realize the importance of our differences.

Hopefully a good portrait, a successful portrait, will have these qualities. The immaterial, or what is not evident, is what I'm concerned with and, what I can learn from it.