The Unreality of Realism - Spring 2007 Issue of Horses in Art Magazine

The Unreality of Realism

by Maggie Stiefvater

Persephone – Colored pencil on paper, 11 x 14, by Maggie Stiefavate.
I had only been an artist for a few years when I discovered there were two versions of every subject: the way they really looked, and the way we remembered them looking. Reality, and what reality ought to be.

This idea was what kept me from the realm of commission portraiture for so long. In my head, I really thought that a portrait was a posed, realistic likeness, and that was definitely not something that inspired my admittedly rebellious artistic inner child. Who held a fond mental image of their horse in a formal pose with a studio background? Would anyone who didn’t know the horse personally connect emotionally with such a portrait? I've always been one of those people that refused to get studio portraits of my kids, for the same reason. They just don’t seem meaningful to me, and for me to want something on my wall, I need something evocative.

I think Persephone was the first piece I did where I realized that a portrait could be more than a posed likeness. I know other artists have come to this conclusion long before I ever picked up a pencil, but for me it was a revelation. With Persephone, I feel like the viewer really learns something about her. Not only that, but someone who didn’t know Persephone might still want her on the wall. If I could do that with every commission I took on, then I could be happy as a portrait artist.

Officially, I now refer to my commissions as "nontraditional portraits," but really what they are is a piece of art that just happens to have the client's horse in it. I retain a lot of freedom as far as posing, lighting, crop, and that’s what makes it fun for me (and satisfies that rebellious inner child). I like the excitement that an edgy crop or dynamic lighting creates. And I love the movement and emotion that comes from dropping bits of pure color into an otherwise realistic portrait.

But most of all, I've found that I love working with my nontraditional clients. They’re like me: they love their horses and they’re looking for something different. Not reality, but what reality ought to be.

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