Arriving for a portrait sitting is often the point at which the experience becomes tangible. Travel, daily activity, and conversation fall away, and attention begins to narrow toward the work ahead. The studio is a working environment rather than a formal reception space, and the transition into it is relaxed.

On arrival, there is time to put belongings aside, take in the room, and adjust to the light and atmosphere. The sitting does not begin immediately. These first minutes allow the shift from movement into stillness to happen gradually, without interruption.

Pace at the Beginning

One of the defining characteristics of a portrait sitting is its pace. The opening moments are deliberately slower than many expect. There is no urgency to establish position or posture, and no expectation that anything must be resolved at once.

This slower rhythm allows attention to settle. Conversation may continue naturally, or fall away altogether. Both are part of the process. What matters at this stage is not stillness, but orientation — allowing the sitter to become comfortable in the space and the work to find its tempo.

Posture, Position, and Adjustment

When arriving for a portrait sitting, posture and position are approached as provisional rather than fixed. Small adjustments are made gradually, often over the course of the first sitting and beyond. These decisions respond to how the sitter settles, how light behaves, and how the portrait begins to take shape.

Movement is expected. Short breaks, shifts in position, and moments of rest are all part of the rhythm of working from life. The emphasis is on sustaining attention over time rather than maintaining a single pose.

Observation Before Resolution

Early observation is exploratory. It is a period of looking, adjusting, and returning, rather than committing to outcomes. The first sitting does not define the finished portrait; it establishes a starting point from which the work can develop.

Painted portraits are built through accumulation rather than immediacy. What emerges in the opening moments is not a likeness to be preserved, but a set of relationships — between sitter, light, posture, and presence — that continue to evolve across sittings.

Establishing the Working Rhythm

The rhythm established when arriving for a portrait sitting carries forward into the rest of the commission. Time is treated as an active part of the process, with periods of work balanced by pauses and reflection.

As the sitting progresses, the initial sense of arrival gives way to a more sustained concentration. The work continues beyond the session itself, developing in the studio between sittings, informed by what has been observed rather than fixed in a single moment.