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Being Seen

Discovering the “Self” in the Portrait. What this 72-Year-Old Woman Shared Will Move You.

By October 30, 2019November 21st, 201918 Comments

Trina and her boyfriend pulled up to the front gate. I watched bewildered as they extracted a rather large canvas from the car. Once inside my house, she placed the painting down and let out a sigh.

I’ve been in the beauty/fashion/photo world a long time, so there’s not much that catches me off guard. But this did.

No one had ever brought a piece of artwork (of any size) to a lesson before.

So I was highly intrigued, especially because it was a rather scantly clad self-portrait.

self-portrait of an abused woman

A photo of Trina’s self-portrait

What you’re about to read is the unexpected and deeply moving story behind what happened that day. She’s held much of this very privately her whole life — even from her close family.

Here we are a year later, and Trina has graciously granted me permission to publish her portraits and this micro memoir. Saying, “I pray someone reading will get the profound message I have tried to share with love and gratefulness, and to see into my heart.”

Some Context

 

Trina is a gifted pastel artist from a small town in South Carolina. When she answers the phone, “hey darlin’!” her sweet Southern twang oozes with love like a little extra sugar in your cool, sweet tea on a hot summer day.

She and I are related though marriage, but I didn’t meet her until a few years ago, so even though our interactions were always pleasant at family gatherings, she was in many ways a stranger.

mature southern woman

Trina and me

Last year, her daughter-in-law (my cousin Ingrid) wanted to gift her a Healthy Makeup Lesson for her 72nd birthday.

Having also noticed Trina avoiding the camera and never smiling in photos, Ingrid asked if I’d take her portrait after our lesson thinking a lovely image would make an amazing gift not just for Trina, but for the whole family too.

The Beauty Muse

 

A few days prior, I sent a message to help get Trina energetically prepared:

“Start thinking of your personal beauty inspiration — what I call your Beauty Muse. She can be one specific woman (like an actress you always admired) or a collection of qualities of many different women from any time period. We won’t turn you into a caricature of that person.

It’s really about tapping into what style and energetic characteristics appeal to you most. We’ll explore how to bring you into more alignment with those inner qualities and expressing them through outer image.”

I’ll admit Trina’s reply confused me:

“I have some ideas. Some are from a full-body, self-portrait about my feelings, which I painted in my thirties. I would like to fast forward to now, at 72 and somehow show the same person, but with more wisdom, strength, etc. I will either bring it with me or send to you in a text.”

I assumed I’d soon get a picture of this self-portrait on my phone. Nope.

As you already know, she showed up to our appointment with her original artwork in hand.

 

The Unexpected Request

 

Fully impressed by this commitment to the Beauty Muse process, I wanted to know all about what the painting meant, and the energy she felt from it.

Trina started out innocuously enough, repeating the words,“wisdom” and “strength.” Of course, I said I’d love to capture that for her – and could she tell me a bit more…

She quickly added one very specific request I instantly knew would seriously disappoint my cousin:

“Do not ask me to smile in the photos.”

 

It reminded me of a similar time when a model I was photographing made the same request. You can read about it here “Stop Telling Me to Smile: Redefining Expectations.”

I didn’t want to press her too much, but I shared how looking too serious (especially after 40) almost always translates on camera as anger. So even the tiniest bit of a smile helps.

She didn’t waiver in her insistence for no smiles.

Then the deep history – held in for a lifetime – came pouring forth. It was something I wasn’t prepared for… and yet felt honored that she felt safe enough to open up about.

 

Her story in her words

 

[trigger warning: physical abuse described]

 

I brought the self-portrait of me sitting in my church, with black high heels, a see-through dress symbolizing my inherent feelings as a sensual woman, who was repressed and shamed.

I was showing my inner spirit of wanting it to escape the bitterness I felt for the strict upbringing I endured during childhood.

My gaze out the window shows my silent hopes for an escape quickly into adulthood.

I wanted to leave my small town, my father’s relentless abuse, and the Baptist church. In those days, it was very easy to see that they were against everything I cared about. They blackballed Jews, blacks, anyone who was different…like the kid who wanted to join the church, but her father had a liquor store. The poor family wasn’t allowed to join either. It was like a small town club. That is what I rebelled against.

southern shack pastel drawing

A photo of Trina’s artwork depicting a Southern home

At 5 years old I would be made to sit with tears rolling down my hot sun scorched cheeks waiting until my father said, You ruin every picture. What is wrong with you, dummy?”

Ernest Hemingway once said he could write a book in six words.

My father: “g-ddamn you stupid female!!! SMILE!!!!!”

Me: NEVER

This is my story, minus years of being physically abused; beaten until I could not move.

Always the same place: on my bed with a rolled up leather belt.

Crying until I had no more tears, but left with only a promise that I would never hurt my children, and that I was worth more, because I never gave up.

Once I shaved my legs without my father’s approval and got the beating of my life. Can you imagine? On my freshly, proudly clean shaven legs. I had belt marks so bad I could not go to school for a week.

The emotional scars have remained for a long, long time.

Bad or good, it made no difference. I was a very young girl that had to grow up fast and fast I did.

I was always trying to get my dad’s, any man, and my own approval.

I became a portrait artist and could catch the true personality of the subject as I watched and listened intently with every fiber of my being…a slight upturning of the lip, a faraway glance ever so dark, or dreamy. I had a keen sense of insincerity with the fake smiles people put on. I finally could read faces, body language and in turn…heal myself.

 

Moving Forward

Honestly, it was really hard to move from hearing her pain around having her picture taken, and jump straight into a makeup lesson and portrait session.

But it was the gift she came to me to receive. So we dove in together.

Three hours flew by and suddenly her boyfriend was back to escort her to a birthday dinner.

On the way out, she told me she knew this would be her last portrait ever.

Thinking about how to truly honor her as a woman and an artist, to create a work of beauty as a keepsake, I realized a portrait that felt like a painting from the past; with a soft glow of lighting in a simple setting, in which the somewhat idealized subject draws the viewer in with an intense, direct gaze was exact approach to take.

She agreed, and chose two images that I worked on with a photo retoucher in Italy to find a balance between the art and the realness of Trina.

Portrait of a mature woman in her 70s

 

Portrait of a 72-year-old woman sittingThen we entrusted an incredible, local print shop Pushdot Studio to memorialize the images in physical, tangible form them as fine art prints.

Soon after receiving the final images in hand, Trina wrote me the best note I could have ever received after such an important, intimate experience:

“I am honored and overwhelmed at the love you have all shown me. You do look for inner beauty as well the nuances of the life I have lived.

You are an amazing woman and photographer. I love what you have done and I love you.

This portrait was the crowning glory of a life well lived, regardless of the beginning. I felt wise and beautiful.

And at the age of 73, I have finally allowed my life to shine for a long awaited gift of sweet release.

I am now smiling from within and my smile shows through my eyes, because I know I have the wisdom to overcome.

Now, I have a story to tell…one with a happy ending.”

Please leave a comment below to share your thoughts.

Artwork by Trina Boozer. Portraits of Trina (Makeup, Hair and Photography) by Kristen Arnett. Artwork and photos are copyrighted and may not be used for any purpose without prior written permission by their creators.

Kristen Arnett

Author Kristen Arnett

A makeup artist and green beauty educator helping you find the very best safe cosmetics. Teaching pro secrets for enhancing your natural beauty at every age, so you can be empowered to make healthier choices, and radiate confidence every day.

More posts by Kristen Arnett

Join the discussion 18 Comments

  • Miri says:

    What a deeply moving story about inner and outer beauty, but more importantly, about the power to heal. Thank you for sharing this with the world.

  • Jackie Patti says:

    This is such a moving and beautiful story, I feel perturbed to be asking such a mundane question. Your lovely lady has lines from her mouth going downwards. I’m much younger than her, but mine are much deeper and the primary reason I’ve been hiding from a camera for years. She looks dignified and strong, I just look mean.

    Unless I purposely do a huge, insincere smile to lift it up, I look like a grumpy old lady, as if any moment I’m going to swing a cast iron pan and yell at you to get off my lawn.

    I’d love if you did an article on this issue similar to the one you did about concealer for baggy eyes, which I also have, but they just make me look old, not mean!

    • Kristen Arnett says:

      In one moment I was taking sigh of understanding and then giggling at your analogy of the lady on the lawn. So thank you for your candor. That isn’t mundane at all. I will offer a few things that may help. Very strategic makeup, light, photography and filters to create the portrait look all helped with the outcome you see. Most folks taking normal shots with their phones and cameras have no idea how to make someone look this way. So I get it. Have you ever tried smirking rather than smiling, and lifting your eyes open just a bit more? it can really help.

  • Marni Kelso says:

    It was beautiful how Trina captured her own thoughts/feelings in her self-portrait…I definitely could feel her pensive vibe. I wasn’t sure what it was for when I just looked at the picture – so to hear the story behind it made complete sense and so much more real. I think so many women would draw their young self with the same type of look…the want for something more or different. The need to be ourselves. I loved the beautiful make-up artistry you did, Kristen, and how you captured her strength and wisdom in the photo of her. She looks like someone I could sit down and listen to for hours; that she would have SO much knowledge to pass on to me about what it is to be a woman and own it in a way that makes it feel exactly right to me. 🙂 Thank you for sharing and thank you to Trina for allowing you to share.

    • Kristen Arnett says:

      I am in very deep appreciate of what you’ve written here, Marni. And I know Trina’s heart is just bursting reading these words too. What you also said about the reflections of younger women feel quite true. Thank you.

  • Taanya says:

    You have managed to capture a lady who has kicked ass and taken names. A person who shows strength and power to overcome anything that was thrown at her. She doesn’t have to smile for people to see who she really is, she knows who she is. The smile is in the eyes and there’s more to come. A lady to never be under estimated. You did a great job of showing this to the world. Thank you

    • Kristen Arnett says:

      Thank you so very much for your incredibly kind comment here, Taanya! Your reflection of Trina and how you saw her in our collective art is deeply appreciated.

  • Alexandra D says:

    Oh wow, intense. <3
    I avoid fake smiles in photos by laughing. 😉
    Thanks to you and her for sharing this raw story.

    • Kristen Arnett says:

      That is such a great way to look authentically happy in a photo, Alexandra! Thank you for sharing that, and for your comment about the article. xo

    • Amy Linville says:

      Wonderful story about being present for someone while also providing a service. Wisdom and strength are waiting to be seen in everyone when we have an open heart and listen. Well done.

  • Nancy Feldman says:

    I get not wanting to smile for a photo- and I too am tired of the fake facial expressions memorized in just a click. Trina is the ultimate of authentic and you Kristen, have captured it all. Trina, through all she endured knows herself and stood by her realty. She represents all of us who have endured pain and suffering on one level or another; rose above and stayed true to herself. This portrait reflects a truth of self, of a woman and how beautiful aging should be embraced. Well done!

    • Kristen Arnett says:

      What a beautifully written and thoughtful comment, Nancy. Thank you for this, and sharing where you feel aligned. I know Trina will truly appreciate your exceptionally support words too. Hugs!

    • Cathy Allen says:

      Thank you Trina & Kristen for the opportunity to know and validate this story for your having lived it. Trina your strength hard earned is visibly tempered with the steel of grace. We need to hear all the stories to be aware and strong for one another.

      • Kristen Arnett says:

        Hi Cathy, I know Trina will love reading your comment of support for how sharing her story spoke to you. Thank you fo that beautiful articulation.

  • Emi Kamiya says:

    Wow, this is very moving and heart wrenching and heart warming all at the same time and the portrait photos at the end is breathtaking!!! Such a beautiful mix of classical art mixed with a modern vibe of a woman that’s strong, resilient and have conquered the past, and life, altogether, in a peaceful, wise way. Thank you for inspiring Trina to also share this story with us!

    • Kristen Arnett says:

      Emi, thank you so very much for your gracious and thoughtful comments and compliments! I know Trina will be as touch as I am by what you wrote.

  • Mauraborealice says:

    So rich and beautiful! A gem.

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