“For Anya Tatevoysan; #2′
Pencil and pastel
2023
This was commissioned a couple of months ago, along with a portrait of the boy’s sister. For better or worse, the little girl is to-die-for cute. The boy simply isn’t a cutie-pie. I looked through all the photographs of him that were sent to me, and I hope this conveys how genuinely interesting he is (and, yes, I discussed this over the telephone with his grandmother, who lives in New York these days).
I began this at 9 am today and finished it by six in the afternoon. I think it’s one of my best portraits-ever. I’m not in the least sentimental about or interested in “cute” children……this boy is something different and special, I think. It’ll be interesting to see what sort of adult this boy turns out to be.