Portraits are created in a number of sessions. The model is often present during these sessions, holding conversations, and listening and working together closely. The model is not always present however, but intensive preparations are made in these cases before the sessions to learn all the facets of the person, as was the case when creating the portrait of Dimitri Sjostakovitsj. It is this fascination and love for the person that brings out the character and emotions in a portrait, leading inevitably to an authentic resemblance, but where the hand of the artist is yet clearly recognisable.
