Artist Statement
I S A B E L L A M A R T I R E
I am a portrait painter whose subjects are drawn from me experiences practicing medicine over the past twenty-four years.
Many of my patients have endured tremendous hardship with strength and dignity; I have come to love and respect them, deeply.
I want to honor their spirit and strength in me portraits of them revealing their joy, resilience, confidence, passion, serenity, and power amidst the challenges they endure.
We chose their favorite outfit and an environment of meaning or comfort to them. I then snap 50 to 60 photos very rapidly trying to capture an expression that represents a trait of their personality. Then in the painting process I take care to capture both their likeness and expression in a photo-realistic manner.
It is important to me to coax out an image of them at their strongest, a reflection of both out time together during this journey.