I agreed to take on a commission for dear friends, to commemorate a milestone birthday. I was given lots of great material from the family as input, but was stumped on how to incorporate it all. I didn’t want an all-collage piece. But my editing background came to the rescue, and I’m paring it down to just an essential landscape, with a few details here & there.

Here’s the piece after a few revisions. I’ve worked on it digitally so far. Next, I’ll print it and mount it on a panel, in order to add some layers of encaustic wax.

But a landscape as a portrait?! First, what I’ve realized is that I’m drawn to landscapes, and that just isn’t going away. Next, the scene is a photograph taken by my friend’s mother, near where she grew up, but it could also represent several of the other places she’s lived. Finally, they trust me to obscure details and abstract them, but I like knowing they’re still there. Hopefully, that appeals to them as well.

I love the idea that landscapes can incorporate so much self-identity. A landscape portrait for me would have to include white birch trees, for example. They scream “Home!” to me and I always return to them in imagery. I was struck by the majestic vistas in Montana, and associate that with anyone lucky enough to be from there.

What landscape could be your portrait?