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So what is the relationship between truth and beauty? (I've found this to be a hot issue when painting commissioned portraits) And how does this affect your response to Neel's work?
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We've discussed this before here, but it's still interesting to me.
I honor my clients in my commissioned work. I think that's my job. I'm not ashamed to show them as they appear on a really good day. But I don't portray them in an untruthful way, and I don't accept direction to do so, and I don't accept the commissions in which I'm asked to.
My explanation for this is that I think people are perfect as they are, and don't need me to make them more so. So when I'm working on a commission, I try to be as straightforward in my depiction as I can, but to stay out of the way. When you look at my commissioned work, you should be aware of the subject and not of me.
If I begin to chafe under this, I do a personal work where I can experiment and paint anyway I please.
Some artists might think this is a pact with the devil, but any commission you accept is in some measure a collaboration, and if you don't believe so, you are free not to paint them. I don't worry about it a lot, because if I'm being paid to stand there and practice, it's purely heaven and I don't take this circumstance for granted.
Finally, stylistically speaking, I can see the boldness and force in Alice Neel's work, but it isn't my cup of choice. But ANYONE who picks up a brush and tries to make a picture has more guts than the average bear, and don't forget it.
Love to all--TE