Some portraits hold an entire history of connection.
This original acrylic portrait of James is Face #68 in A Hundred Faces: Brushstrokes of Humanity, my series of 100 contemporary portraits exploring the people, relationships, and unexpected connections that become part of our lives.
I first knew James when he was a little boy. His parents became dear friends during our PepsiCo years, when our families lived in Mexico City together. Those years took all of us to some remarkable places. We later visited his family during their next assignment in Istanbul, and I still remember our daughter babysitting James one evening in Cancun while the adults attended a work event.
And then, as happens in life, the years passed.
The photograph that inspired this portrait was taken in Argentina, where James was celebrating his college graduation with his parents. He had been fishing for dorado, and I was immediately drawn to the image—the sunlight, the color, his expression—but even more to what the photograph represented.
Here was the little boy we had known during our years abroad, now a young man and college graduate, having created experiences and adventures of his own.
That passage of time is one of the things I love most about painting people. A portrait can capture a face at one particular moment while holding so many other moments beneath the surface.
Painted in acrylic with expressive brushwork and unexpected color, James is more than a likeness for me. It is a portrait of connection, shared history, and the wonderful experience of encountering someone years later and seeing who they have become.
James is Face #68 in A Hundred Faces: Brushstrokes of Humanity, an original contemporary portrait series by Austin artist Kara Manza.