Although I enjoy painting and drawing anything realistically, I enjoy painting people the most. The interrelationships humans have with each other greatly intrigues me. Figures are one of the oldest subject matters portrayed in art, dating back to cave walls in Paleolithic times. The figure has continued to be an inspiration to artists from then on, through the renaissance and still is today. The human form inspires even the non-artist. The proof is in the human presence in photography. I don’t know a single person that doesn’t have photographs of themselves, their family and their friends. There is a fascination with preserving the memory of the individual through their likeness that has continued throughout history. I like to focus on the figure’s face, as it is the distinguishing feature that sets them apart from others. If you painted only bodies you would have no way of knowing just whose body it was. However, with the face, even the slightest variation of color, the tiniest change in the shape of the eyes, nose or mouth determines identity and personality. In my portraits I strive to show the individual. I strive to showcase their independence as a person and make evident that which sets them apart from all the rest.