I haven’t exclusively painted beautiful personalities. There was a time when I experimented with a theory that the miserable could be nudged to think like happy people if I could show them what it would look like if their attitude were positive. Call it art therapy.

The attempt failed. There may be other reasons, but my belief is that people who prefer the ways of happiness will seek them out while those who prefer less follow that preference with equal dedication.

It’s like the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, an exercise in understanding trajectory. Still, it was worth a try.

I showed the individual in a Victorian environment, something they liked.

This portrait was of a person who may never have existed.

The hardest part was painting a peaceful expression. That, I had to make up.