I have spent 29 years working for Sotheby’s and during that time I have seen some great works of art. But I have never loved anything more than the portrait of Charlie. I remember walking through the John Singer Sargent show with a friend of Kevin’s Mom who is an artist and he explained to me why Sargent was so talented as a portrait artist. You have that same gift. Just like Sargent, your work looks completely different when viewed up close and from afar. Very few people have the gift to understand how the colors that you apply when you are a brushstroke away from the canvas will translate to capturing the true likeness of a person or animal when viewed from afar. Your work is so shockingly real that at first, I thought you had painted over a photograph and then I realized – YOU created it. We are absolutely dazzled. And I cannot believe that we get to keep this beautiful work of art. Thank you for sharing your gift with our family. The first thing Steve said was “this is going to be the thing the children will fight over when we are gone.”

-Cassie Spencer, 2025