Portrait of Andrea

I learned to juggle three-at-a-time as a young man, and strangely, that rhythm came back to me while painting Andrea. It was its own kind of balancing act: using the discipline of the Flemish style to hold a very fragile, ‘in-between’ moment – a smile that is unsure if it is welcome yet and eyes searching for a bit of reassurance. If you can sense her dignity and feel a sense of compassion for that human moment, then we’ve managed the juggler’s magic together.