The faces people make when they are photographed and the face they have when you draw them are very different.

I think it is such an amazing moment when people realize what they are and what they can be, and they start putting themselves out into the world. I think you can see it in people when it's happening. They look different.

I start listening to something, or I'm seeing somebody a lot or seeing their art. And then I just really want to make a picture of them.

A painting of a person can be descriptive, but for me it's about all the things that make up a picture - the feelings, the brushstrokes - more than describing somebody. People latch on to the personalities when they talk about my work and forget the other parts.

I think little things are more powerful because they're more honest, so people feel them more strongly.

In 19th-century France, artists were part of government. Artists are very sensitive to their time. They're very thoughtful people - it makes sense to hear what they have to say.