Hello Reader,

Last week, I wrote about the faces we remember and how the features that make us unique are often the very things that deviate from the "ideal."

This week, my portrait students and I are painting a young girl.

At first glance, you might think a young face would be easier to paint.

After all, there are no deep wrinkles, laugh lines, weathered skin, or years of life etched into the face. The skin is smooth. The transitions are soft. The features are delicate.

But in many ways, that makes the portrait more challenging.

An older face often gives us clues. The lines around the eyes hint at laughter. Furrows in the brow suggest years of concentration, worry, or determination. Time leaves behind a map that helps tell the story of a life.

A child's face is different.

The map is still being drawn.

As artists, we have fewer landmarks to guide us. Instead of relying on dramatic shadows and strong edges, we must pay attention to subtler things: the tilt of the head, the softness of the light, the shape of a smile, the sparkle in the eyes.

We are not painting a lifetime of experiences.

We are painting possibility.

There is something beautiful about that.

When I look at a young face, I find myself wondering what adventures lie ahead. What joys will they experience? What challenges will shape them? What stories will someday be written across that smooth skin?

As artists, we often talk about capturing a likeness. But I think portraiture is about something deeper. It is about noticing what makes a person uniquely themselves, whether their story is just beginning or has been unfolding for decades.

Every face has a story.

Some have simply had more chapters written than others.

Until the next splash of color,

Leslie