"December 2016" Portrait

So many thoughts behind the impetus to paint this. The date is important; 2016 has been a brutal year for almost everybody, but it's almost over. Besides that, at its most basic essence, this is JUST a portrait, the result of an exercise of my skill as a portrait artist. There is power in portraiture. The artist takes control over the likeness of a subject and makes it his or her own. Most of my portraits are commissions from customers, but when I paint a portrait of my own choosing, I get to control the style, the definition of detail, the overall design. This painting can be taken neutral or critical, relief, all connotations associated with my Conservative point-of-view of American politics, but if someone I disagreed with were to like this piece for other reasons, I wouldn't be offended either. After all, it's just a portrait.

"December 2016"
Acrylic on canvas 16 x 16 inches

Copyright 2016 Sonia Jackson Summers