What do we capture when we paint a portrait?

[Lon Haverly]

I do not paint from life, but I draw from life, and I can say that no drawing is a "perfect" likeness. I sometimes draw the same person several times in different poses. Each drawing is different. Sometimes the likeness improves in the second or third drawing. Sometimes I will see a drawing that I drew the day before, and I do not agree with the drawing anymore.

The people I draw I do not know from Adam. I am totally and utterly dependent on what I see, not what I know about the person. Usually I can get a little bit out of the person during my ten minutes, but for the most part the drawing is very subconscious, and I chat and let the fingers do the walking.

What can be captured in ten minutes? Perhaps it is that person in MY style. Perhaps that is what the customer wants; they want to see themselves as I see them with my lines. When a person sees their image in a mirror, they really are not objective about what they see. They are captives of their personal prejudice. It is the same with a photo to a lesser extent. A drawing or painting from life, however, by someone whom they respect, is indeed a curious thing.

People buy my drawings because they see the results of the person before them, and are persuaded to try it. As a matter of fact, rarely does a person sit down for a portrait unless they have watched me draw someone else. (A portrait of someone else on my display is not very compelling.) They know that I will achieve a reasonable likeness based upon the drawing they just saw. However, sometimes the person is surprised at what I draw, in spite of the fact that they have perhaps seen several good likenesses before them. That is because I see them differently than they do. Perhaps I see something that they don't see at all. It is MY perception.

Perhaps, too, they want to see if I catch the same charm that THEY see in their child or friend. That experience is so much more dramatic when drawing from life than from a photo.

I am sure that most artists here are not like me, a "public" artist. It probably is not a good direction for an art career if you want to make it in the art world. Be that as it may, I tell you, there is nothing like drawing sketches in public. The support, the excitement, the drama is very rewarding. And sometimes, it pays!