Hands will speak

It’s easy to assume that portraits are primarily about faces. But hands are also equally as expressive. Ian states: “There's so much expression from a face, but hands are equal to a face, I would say. If you put your hand on your cheek, that means something. So, hands are like faces; they cannot lie. You can fake an expression while thinking about something else, but hands can sometimes tell even more of a story than the face.” In art history, it interestingly cost more money to have a portrait with hands. “If you have two hands in a painting, it means that you can afford two hands,” Ian points out. “If you only have one hand, you're probably fairly wealthy compared to someone with a portrait without any hands; it's another show of status and wealth.”

In Portrait of Scott Eaton, Ian wanted Scott’s hands to not necessarily describe wealth, but instead to represent his career. “I wanted to show the intimacy between Scott and his career,” Ian answers. “He chooses his path in life; he wants to do anatomy; he wants to give back as an artist. The solid grip of the skull also indicates that he's like taking control over what he loves doing.”

And the details don’t stop there. Take note that the skull is a reverse-forensics of Scott’s own head, meaning he is essentially holding his own skull in his hands. Every detail counts.