Some portraits begin with a photograph. This one began decades ago.
This original acrylic portrait of Bob Margeas is part of my ongoing portrait series, A Hundred Faces: Brushstrokes of Humanity—a collection of 100 contemporary portraits exploring the people, relationships, and unexpected connections that become part of our lives.
I didn’t know Bob while growing up in Port Huron, Michigan, but I knew his family before he became part of it. His wife, Andrea, was once the little girl I taught to swim, and her mother was my high school English teacher. Decades later, I would paint Andrea and then her sons, Andrew and Nick.
And now, Bob.
Painting Bob reminded me why I love portrait painting. Beyond creating a likeness, I want each portrait to feel alive—to capture personality through expressive brushwork, unexpected color, and the small characteristics that make a face unmistakably individual.
Bob completes a family of four within A Hundred Faces. Four individual acrylic portraits, painted years after my first connection to this family began on the shores of Lake Huron.
Four faces. One family story. Decades of connections I never could have imagined.
A Hundred Faces: Brushstrokes of Humanity is an original portrait collection by Austin, Texas artist Kara Manza, featuring expressive acrylic portraits painted on gesso board. The complete collection will be exhibited at Austin Art Space in Austin, Texas, in June 2027.