HI Grandma, I've been thinking about you!

I've always said that painting a portrait is like a meditation on a person. A long one. Every interaction you've ever had with that person, every thing you know about them...floats up to the top, settling in your conscious mind while you paint. It can be a little odd when you next see the person, after working long hours on their portrait. You might say, "Hi! I've been thinking about you for the last four days!" This ensures a very weird interaction if the subject of the portrait is just an acquaintance...or a teenager goddess help me. Eye-twitch, half-smile, loss of face muscle-control micro-second later and we have a good 30 Rock skit premise: the intimate, but not so intimate hi-bye.

Recently, I've discovered that painting a portrait of a person as important as my la