The Thrill of Painting Portraits

My portrait of Jimi Hendrix painted for his 80th birthday celebration in Seattle.

This has been one hell of a year. To combat the anxiety and stay sane I’ve doubled down on my painting practice, and I’ve produced a ton of new work this year. I’ve been a full time artist for a few years now so being in lockdown wasn’t a hugely dramatic change for me. Because there was nowhere to go, and no one to visit, I’ve been spending more time at home painting than ever before.

By September I was feeling a little uninspired and repetitive. I think I was getting a little tired, or just needing a change. I wanted to bring something new to my work, I wanted a new challenge to pull me out of the rut I was slipping into. I don’t think I was in a bad place at all, but I could feel the subtle call to try something new.

Thich Nhat Hanh portrait

The next week I applied to participate as a live painter for the peace march in honor of Jimi Hendrix’s and the 50th anniversary of his death on September 18th 1970. I was accepted and although I had not painted a portrait in many years, and famous musicians are not my typical subject matter, I saw a fun challenge in making a portrait of Hendrix as a cosmic space-entity, jamming away in the stratosphere.

I loved painting the portrait so much that I decided to paint another one of Thich Nhat Hanh in honor of his 94th birthday (I had five days to paint it if it was going to be done on his birthday!). I raced to get the painting done in time and again, I had so much fun making it. I love the challenge in painting portraits and I love telling the personal stories of the subjects; it turns out that painting portraits brought exactly the change and freshness I was seeking.

My first self-portrait in many years

Next I made a self portrait, and I’m now planning a portrait of my girlfriend and artist Carrie Schmitt. I feel more energized and excited to paint everyday than I have in awhile. It feels great. And painting portraits opens me up to a wider range of commissioned work. I plan to make time in the coming months to take some commissions for soul portrait work. Would you like to commission a portrait? Please contact me!