[Tom Edgerton]

We debated this topic in another long thread, but I had to post to agree with Michele. That's the best argument I've ever seen refuting the "one can't hold it, so don't paint it" argument. Thanks so much.

I paint teeth as often as not. However, for me the reason to do it is not to cave to the demands of an unsophisticated client, it's to properly depict the inner life of the subject. If it's appropriate, take the cue from Frans Hals--also one of my favorites--and do it.

If a client is asking for the 500-watt PR smile, I merely explain that it won't wear well over time and steer them to an "in-betweener." I don't feel artistically bankrupt in doing so either. And, surprise, sometimes it's actually more complex and lifelike a depiction psychologically than an expression that portrays impending suicide, for example. And, conversely, when my client is inwardly oriented and serious, that's what I paint.

Neither path leads to a higher truth, it's just one more in a series of choices.