NOIR
/nwär/
“Black folks may not identify with art due to an absence of representation. Many of us do not know that black folks create diverse art, and we may not see them doing it…the point is that most black folks do not believe that the presence of art in our lives is essential to our collective well-being.”
-bell hooks
Faces of America
Special Commission Offering
16” x 20” Oval Oil Portraits
For the continuation of Faces of America, I am accepting a limited number of portrait commissions in a fixed format and scale. These works will extend the series as a living archive of presence, identity, and self-definition.
Each portrait is created through an intentional process centered on the sitter’s ori—the spiritual and intellectual center of the self—and the ase that animates their being.
Commission Details
• Medium: Oil on panel
• Format: 16” × 20” oval
• Price: $1,500
• Availability: Limited slots
All portraits in this offering will be uniform in scale and format, reinforcing the collective nature of the series while honoring each individual subject.
The Sitting & Study
Each commissioned portrait includes a three-hour, in-person sitting.
This time is used to:
• Conduct a painted study from life
• Observe gesture, posture, and presence
• Engage in conversation to understand the sitter’s personal history, interior life, and self-conception
The study serves as both a visual and relational foundation for the final work.
The sitter will be gifted a fine art print of the study as part of the commission.
The Final Work
• The completed oil portrait will be painted following the sitting and study
• Each work becomes an official extension of the Faces of America series
• All commissioned portraits will be exhibited collectively as part of an upcoming presentation of the project
Each work will include an acknowledgment of the sitter’s contribution from their personal collection, recognizing their role in sustaining and expanding the archive.
Why Participate
To commission a portrait within Faces of America is to participate in an act of self-proclamation—asserting presence, dignity, and authorship within a historical continuum that has often denied such agency.
These works exist simultaneously as:
• Personal heirlooms
• Cultural records
• Living documents of American identity
**Due to the scale and nature of this project, slots are limited.
Interested sitters are invited to submit a request for consideration.
