elizabethquillen.com

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My little sister has been my muse since I first began to draw. My paintings have captured her likeness since she was six years old through the beginning of her freshman year of high school. It has always been extremely important to me that she feels comfortable with the idea of me drawing or photographing her, and also with the individual images I end up creating and sharing with the world.

When I decided to create a series of master studies featuring people I care about, I let my sister decide which painting she wanted to be in. She chose a portrait by John Singer Sargent. To accompany her, I added my face into a self-portrait created by Elisabeth Louise Vigée le Brun. I also wanted to talk directly about our relationship, so I chose to recreate a piece by contemporary painter Daniel Gerhartz of two sisters playing with each other’s hair. Styling my sister’s hair has been one of the consistent ways we spend time together through different phases of our lives. While recreating these masterpieces, I’ve explored my connection to the original painters while simultaneously reflecting on the relationship I have with my sister.

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