Artwork / 2019 / Lidia

Lidia’s favorite color is white, and, since I ask everyone I paint what their preferred color is, I can tell you that hers is a rare choice. As I made this painting, I thought a lot about this one and the challenge of making a white background.

I painted Lidia to be a part of a series of eleven portraits for The Future We Need, a book about collective bargaining and how it can be used by more than just labor unions. The other subjects from this portrait collection are Allyson, Bettie, Cynthia, Deloris, Heather, Jeff, Kimberly, Rubynell, Sanchioni, Sarita, and Smiley. For more about Lidia and my encounter with her, check out this article. You can watch the making of this portrait on my blog.