Again, I do occasionally paint other genres besides still life. My parents commissioned charcoal portraits done of both me and my sibling when I was young, so I relate to these requests; but can't always fit it into my self imposed schedule. Portraits can be quite entertaining, and I will wander in that direction only if it feels intriguing. So again, not a one-trick pony, I just have a solid preference. The pic above was taken while I was painting an in-progress piece of a girl looking at her phone. An accurate portrayal to be sure. And yes, sometimes I paint upside down; it can help you see things differently. But what I really enjoyed was doing the hair. You can see the beginning of the texture in the hair on the left. (Just zoom in if you are on your phone.) Unique, not just hair but a textural tapestry. In fact the entire painting exploits texture. That made it fun for me. It was painting that detail that I enjoyed the most, otherwise...meh. Back to my brushes.  

"Life is a great tapestry.  The individual is only an insignificant thread in an immense and miraculous pattern."  - Albert Einstein

A while back, my eldest requested some flower paintings for their home. As you well know, flowers aren’t really my area of interest (except conceptually, of course). When my grandmother died, I went to her home and dug up some of her iris bulbs to put in my garden. Along with echinacea, daylilies, and hollyhocks (my personal favorite), I had plenty of flowers in my backyard from which to choose. I only own a couple of other items that were Grammy’s, but her birdbath sits outside my studio window and provides great entertainment for me while I paint.
 
My eldest’s only requirement was that the paintings had to be a certain size, which was quite small—perfect, because I didn’t want to spend much time on them. I thought they turned out all right and she loves them. Win-win.
 
I share this to point out that artists paint all kinds of things that you never expect or know about. Oscar Wilde said “Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter.” I believe every subject painted is a portrait of the artist, but some are more accurate than others.
 
P.S. I climbed the fence at Grammy’s house and lost my balance, cutting the back of my leg open from the back of my knee to my ankle on the chain link. I also found out I was allergic to the tetanus vaccine. That was some day. Back to my brushes.

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"I believe that life is chaotic, a jumble of accidents, ambitions, misconceptions, bold intentions, lazy happenstances, and unintended consequences."  - Steve Jobs