I had a teacher in art school who used to teach us to 'do the difficult things first'. So I concentrated on doing lots and lots of portraits. It was more than just line, form, and color. You had to tell that person's story somehow. I learned that choosing the right model was one of the most significant parts of the process, and could actually make the work easier by selecting 'characters'. Not strange, but they are people who stand out by themselves. These people's personas can usually tell most of their story for you.

 

My models are seldom professionals but rather regular people who have become instant inspirations, as they crossed my path and were willing to have me shoot about 3-5 quick photos while we talked a minute. The entire interaction took less than 5 minutes. I love my models and develop special relationships with them. Having someone come up and be asked to paint them is quite often the craziest thing that has ever happened to them. I'm proud to see their reactions to the finished works, and to bring them to viewers to share that special something that ignited the ambiguous thing we call art.