Growing Into You
Who Will Paint Your Portrait?
Back in the mid-last century, the great abstract painter Salvador Dali had a thing or two to say about painting portraits. His belief was that the portrait artist paint not what the subject was now, but rather what they could aspire to become.
He said, “I do not paint a portrait to look like the subject, rather does the person grow to look like his portrait.”
Given his penchant for surreal - how shall I put it - bizarre images, getting your portrait painted by Dali must have been a character building experience indeed.
I have some experience with this.
Recently a very young patron stopped by the library with thrilling news. She had drawn a picture of me! My eagerness could not have been more pronounced and I practically overflowed with enthusiasm as she handed me her master-work.
I’ve posted it below. It is, dare I say, a perfect likeness! It now hangs in my office.
This fine work of art rang another bell for me. Years ago, when Uma was about this patron’s age - likely about four - she also drew a picture of me. This was her very first picture of me.
Of course I still have it. Uma’s portrait is also a perfect representation. How fortunate I am to have had my portrait painted not once but twice by great masters of the arts!
I do wonder how I’ll be able to “grow to look like my portraits” though, as Dali suggested. Both appear to show a very different me - one shaggy and unrestrained, the other more sleek and controlled. Or, perhaps the portraits, TOGETHER, conspire to direct me toward my future; a little bit of responsibility, a little bit of wildness. Did my daughter ‘see’ me differently than a young artist of the same age, a father figure vs. an authority role.
So much to consider here! But isn’t that the beauty of art? You never know what you’ll grow into.
