Inspired by a fascination with historical portraits, these images blur the distinction between painting and photography. In my reinterpreted versions of these portraits, a hair-and-makeup artist “paints” directly onto the subject, who is then costumed and placed before a painted backdrop. After technical adjustments have been made in the studio – lighting, angles and poses – the image emerges reminiscent to a print developing in a darkroom. The image is not retouched once the shot has been captured. Like the source material, the resulting photographs depict a very specific aspect of each portrait subject, only now the viewer is perhaps more compelled to ponder the larger story of the sitter while considering our culture’s fascination with documenting each other.