Carrying Beauty Home: Recap of the 2026 Portrait Society of America Conference
For many artists, the annual conference hosted by the Portrait Society of America feels a bit like summer camp, family reunion, graduate seminar, and artistic revival all rolled into one. Every year I leave inspired, exhausted, humbled, and deeply grateful. This year’s conference in Atlanta carried a particular depth for me, because 2026 marks ten years since I first joined the faculty. The Face-Off is the PSOA's opening event. It's always charged with the best kind of energy! It also happens to be how I made my faculty debut in 2016, and I was thrilled to be back this year. Thrilled with how my 3 hour Face Off painting of Leslie turned out! And she was too, as she made sure to outbid anyone else who tried to buy it! (By the way, my tee shirt says "Buy Art, Not Cocaine," courtesy of Artefex, who supplied the panels for my demos over the weekend) It's always thrilling seeing my name up on the big screen! I still remember how surreal it felt in 2016 to suddenly f...
