This film screened 21st February 2010.

The making of a portrait is an intimate experience, one which can be a pleasurable event for both parties or one that’s fraught with difficulties. Either way, to paint someone’s picture is a unique way of really getting under their skin. In a world where

anyone can make a realistic likeness on their cellphone, the importance of the painted portrait remains: as an emblem of power and prestige, as a political act and ultimately as a memorial. These themes and many others are explored through the work of three of Ireland’s most notable portrait painters: James Hanley, Mick O’Dea and Brian Maguire. Made under the Arts Council’s Reel Art Initiative, Conor Horgan’s witty new documentary follows each artist as they create new work, providing an illuminating insight into their individual creative processes.