The portraits are rendered in charcoal and pastel on acid-free cotton paper measuring thirty-eight by fifty inches. Every portrait begins with an extensive photographic session that includes numerous shots taken in a variety of moods and changes of clothing, etc., against a black backdrop. Photographic prints of the best shots are included with every portrait commission. From the resulting photographs, my clients and I choose the one(s) that will be used as the basis for the finished work of art. These portraits evolved through 10 years of work. In 1993, I was painting stories in oil on canvas in various overlapping configurations. Most of these “word paintings” were about miraculous events in my life. Sparked by a pivotal visit to a mannequin factory in that year, I became fascinated with mannequins as imagery. I photographed the bare mannequins to employ as source material for drawings, paintings and mixed media pieces. These works explored our tendency to unconsciously view people as objects and objects as human. Large-scale photo-realistic charcoal drawings and oil paintings of mannequins evolved from this exploration. Words came back into the mix as I began incorporating text with the images of mannequins. These then led to the creation of an installation (a conglomerate of pieces that are designed to be exhibited together as one whole) called “Woman as Object,” which included paintings and drawings of actual women depicted as mannequins, plus videotapes of each woman talking. Starting in 1999, I began exploring portrait photography as an end in itself, using the high-contrast style I had developed while photographing the mannequins. Until then, I had used the photographs I took strictly as source material for works in other mediums. In 2003, a dear friend commissioned me to translate one the photographs I had taken of her into a large charcoal rendering similar to the ones I had done of the mannequins and the mannequin-like women. Every aspect of this portrait commission coalesced to give rise to a deeply satisfying melding of my contemporary style of artwork with the tradition of iconic portraiture. It was one of those moments where so much of one’s previous experience unexpectedly gave rise to the arrival at an unpredictable, yet absolutely fitting place. In 2004, I was introduced to a practice called Fluency, which refers to using one’s direct connection to universal knowledge to receive information. (The website about Fluency is www.fluencyfoundation.com.) Through this, I received the suggestion that I incorporate text with the portraiture and that the specific words would be given to me for each portrait. At that time, I was in the process of doing the charcoal portrait for my client, Kati. As promised, I received the words and Kati agreed to the addition. I drew the words in a light red pastel that shimmers against the black background. They describe, in a simple, poetic way, some of Kati’s most essential qualities. The text produces a visual field and alters the spatial illusion of the piece; the poetry adds a literary element and the meaning of the words deepen the impact of the visual image of the subject. I experience that the addition of this powerful element brings the portraiture to fruition as a full self expression for me as an artist; the works now include every aspect of my idiom. It is a great privilege to work in partnership with people who entrust me with the job of capturing the essence of their beauty, both inner and outer, and getting it expressed through my gifts as an artist. As I do the work, each person’s heart and the intimacy they allow me to create with them provides the inspiration. Each subject, so far, has told me that both the process and the resulting work of art have had a profound positive effect on them and the people close to them.