Portrait of the portraitist
I have to admit it. I am nervous to see the portrait that Becca has painted of me for Subjective. Today we’re meeting to photograph the work together and I’ll finally get to meet her version of me. I haven’t seen what she has made of me yet because our collaboration was a “blind” one. We agreed on the subjects we would be painting—our parents, our partners, her daughter, my brother, and each other—but that’s all we knew of the other half of the series as we worked. With all the paintings finished, I get to see my face painted by someone besides me for the first time ever.
I’m used to being on the other end of this equation, so I am excited and, frankly, a little petrified.
Celeste’s portrait of me from 1997
When I was in high school, my friend Celeste drew this portrait of me for a birthday present. I remember the first time I laid eyes on it. I remember loving everything about it: the way she caught my smile, the way she got my nose just right, the way she saw my hair. Quite simply, I was enthralled by the way she had made a portrait of me for me.
I am fascinated by photos that my loved ones take of me too, but, from the beginning, this drawing was more significant because Celeste sat down and took time to make it. There was something special about that act—about not just snapping a knowing moment with a camera, but instead thinking about my face and about me for a solid chunk of time and trying to get my likeness just right.
Celeste’s portrait of me is very important to the artist I am today.
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CATEGORIES: - Practice - On portraiture - Subjective -
