On December 4, 2024, AWTT artist Robert Shetterly sat down with Judith Meyer, Sun Journal Executive Editor, to talk about the comprehensive exhibit of his 276 portraits at the Bates Mill Complex atrium in Lewiston, Maine.
Shetterly described his 23 years of portrait painting as a โtherapy projectโ and a period of intense self-education. Although he experiences the painting of each portrait as an intimate process, the feeling of seeing them hung together, all in one beautiful, historic space, was one of โsurprise.โ He described painting the subjectโs eyes first so that he is then facing that person and having a conversation with them as the rest of the portrait unfolds. Somewhat like falling in love, he described. But now, seeing them gathered together, to converse with each other and with the gallery visitors; the overall effect for him was โoverwhelming.โ
When asked how he decides who to paint, Shetterly responded: โThey come and get me. . . . someone comes and bites my ankle.โ Whether a potential portrait subject is famous or unknown, if he is drawn to a personโs story, then he feels compelled to paint them. He tells bits of some of their stories over the course of the interview, highlighting Walt Whitman (his first portrait), Frances Perkins, Ella Baker, Mark Twain, Dwight Eisenhower, and Bree Newsome. His 277th portrait will be Hala Rharrit who, after 18 years working as a U.S. diplomat, resigned in opposition to her governmentโs policy on the war in Gaza. Her portrait will be unveiling in early 2025.
If you missed the live interview, you can view it on the Portland Press Herald website.