A Portrait of Presence: What We See Beneath the Surface

The light was bright, the room was quiet, and Andrea sat just a few feet from me. We were close - physically and emotionally. This wasn’t a traditional portrait session. It was a moment of mutual openness. A chance to let instinct lead, to see what might emerge when presence and trust are shared.

I painted just her face and neck. A close-up. Minimal background. No props. Just her gaze, meeting mine, then meeting yours.

Andrea knew this was part of my ongoing study: a series of appreciation portraits - each one a meditation on gratitude. As we worked, we talked. About work. About her partner. About my own changes. About the people we love and the people we struggle with. About how those feelings rarely exist in isolation. Gratitude alongside grief. Fulfillment beside fatigue.

She looked straight ahead for much of it. There isn’t an elaborate expression or posed moment in the final image. But there is presence. There is honesty. There is something deeply human in letting someone simply be seen.

This is why I paint.

Each portrait in this series is a kind of thank-you. A handmade record of appreciation. Sometimes they are gifts. Sometimes they are reminders. Sometimes they are both. Andrea’s portrait reminds me that a person’s face can hold everything at once. Resolve and uncertainty. Peace and pain. Joy and the weight of responsibility. And sometimes, the most direct portraits are the ones that ask us to look inward.

If someone comes to mind while reading this, I’d love to help you thank them.