Like any artist, there are times where I make mistakes. Portrait mistakes can be frustrating, but they can also be enlightening. I like to believe that my mistakes have something to teach me. Often what I learn is that I like the mistake.
These portraits were taken during a learning phase for me:
The white balance was wrong. My focus was off and I was flustered. The model was excellent and I couldn’t get it right. Funny thing is that these portrait mistakes created some of my favorite portraits to date. In fact, many of my mistakes are my most loved.
I learned that I am moved by a slight blur, the eerie golden light. And I’ve always been this way in my artwork. Many years ago when I explored pastels, I fell in love with the medium because of the inexactness of it; the dreamy quality of blurred edges. It made me feel something that a crystal clear image didn’t.
Perhaps what I love is that images like this leaves space for the viewer to decide what the story is; to participate in the visual. I believe we stand to learn far more from our mistakes than our successes. We learn how we see and find our own voice in expression.
