Years later, when I began my professional career as an artist while living in Jacksonville, Florida, I painted hundreds of portrait commissions of children and adults, all of them from photographs I took. Shooting thousands of photos while following children around in 90- to 100-degree heat and humidity, I often felt more like a photographer than a painter.
But I was seeking that one expression that was most authentic for each child, and with the help of the parents we were usually able to find the right one. Often, when working from life, the subject falls into a pose that is more somber than they usually look, but the photo can capture that fleeting expression that is so characteristic of the individual.