Blog / 2012 / Following Paintings: Mary Anne and Katie

My portrait work comes in two varieties: the individual portrait and the portrait in a series. I paint individuals for commission and I also paint groups of people for the purpose of exploring a particular issue. The latter are exhibited as conceptual shows.

Mary Anne and Katie, the subjects I interview in this video, have participated in my work in both ways, and our relationship started at the opening of one of my conceptual shows, Private Masks, because of this lovely woman.

Mary Anne’s portraits are part of Swollen, “before” and “after” portraits of eight women in the midst of various changes. Because it was part of the series, Mary Anne’s portrait was originally conceived to be matched with a second portrait of her. It’s the painting that’s on the floor in the video and the pairing is shown here.

It was fun to see Mary Anne’s painting with Katie’s because, unlike with most diptychs, I didn’t get to spend much time with them as a pair. I created Katie’s to go with Mary Anne’s without actually having Mary Anne’s in the studio to look at.

Katie and Mary Anne aren’t the only portrait subjects I’ve interviewed: see my conversations with James, Lyndsay, and Gabe. You can hire me to paint your portrait!