Artwork / Subjective / Daughter

The subject of these portraits is a very intense child and both her mother and I represented her as such. This shocked a number of viewers since young children are more commonly portrayed as playful and light. I remember a full range of emotions that I experienced in childhood, and I think it’s unfortunate when portraitists drain all complexity out of this formative time in our lives in favor of a bland idealized version of what it means to be a kid.