Who are you painting?

Learning about someone without words is an incredible gift.

“Are we to paint what’s on the face, what’s inside the face, or what’s behind it?” – Pablo Picasso

These days, being able to see people as they are instead of who I think they are, or want them to be seems more and more important to me. I’m not as interested in small talk, and half the time, my words may just be getting in the way.

When someone sits with you and gives you the opportunity to paint their portrait, you have been given a real gift, and so have they. There is an ineffable exchange that takes place between the painter and the sitter. Something is being created that is bigger than the sum of the two. When is the last time that you spent a few hours looking at someone? Just looking.

People are fascinating. I never grow tired of looking at people. No, I’m not talking about being creepy on the subway. I’m talking about being an artist and seeing the wholeness of somebody for the first time. I have painted friends that I’ve known for years and never really seen before. It’s almost like I have to get out of the way in order to really see my friends.

Portrait of Naomi Lipper – oil on canvas – 24”x48”

Painting our loved ones can be the hardest. We come to these paintings with our stories already written. Are we painting who we think they are? Are we painting how we feel about them, or how we think they feel about us? Or are we just concerned with getting the nose right so we don’t have to sleep on the couch? All of a sudden, our painting matters in a different way than it did before.

What do you see when you paint a portrait? Of course you will see lips, eyes, nose, skin… You might even start off by seeing what you assume that the person looks like. Eventually though, that too falls away, and you begin to see this person in front of you for the first time. Really see them. There is something beyond characteristics and description. It’s the thing that connects us all. What you are seeing is our humanness.

Have you ever tried to paint someone from life?

Have you seen someone you know as if for the first time?

Who are you painting?