About my portraits
When I started doing portraits I thought it would be a nice way to use my art skills to help support my family financially. What I have found is that it gives me something I didn’t really think of at first and that is the opportunity to serve others.
Being an artist is so often about the self and the ego, "Look what I did!". It has to be because art is about the self, hence the term "self expression". Don’t get me wrong, I totally support the notion of self expression. My main goal and passion in life, besides being devoted to my family, is to always be growing and improving as an artist. It is to find my deepest inner self, reach that place inside, pull out and express freely those things, pretty or not, guts and all, with the greatest skill I can achieve and put it on display for everyone to see and say, "Look what I did!". It is often refreshing and gratifying to put that feeling aside and help express something that is about and for someone else. It is very much like exhaling after taking in a deep breath.
The portrait is totally about the client and the subject. I spend a lot of time with the original photograph I am working with to try and find what is meaningful about the image as well as the essence of the subject. Usually the request for a portrait comes from a place of love and memory and I always strive to channel those feelings into the artwork. It is a pleasure to work with others to create something that is so personal and meaningful to them.
Francha Cavitt
