Surrounded by jars of brushes, tubes of paint, and makeshift painting palettes, artist Amy Sherald holds her face inches from the canvas, reveling in the slow and meditative practice of painting. In this documentary short, the artist offers insights into what inspires her portraits: small moments of freedom, the exhilaration of childhood exploration, and commitments to land and to community. Depicting Black American subjects, Sherald understands the contexts and histories with which she must contend and acknowledges how they shape the reading of her works. However, in all of this the artist works to hold onto the everyday, ordinary moments she captures, fundamentally working to create beauty that affirms both subjects and viewers. “I think beautiful paintings are important,” says Sherald. “I say figuration is like the soul food of art making, it’s what takes you back home and what you eat when you need comfort, and we all need that at some point.”

This film was directed by Ian Forster, edited by Max Blecker, and filmed by Andrew Kemp, Jia Li, and Jane Macedo Yang; based on an interview originally conducted by Forster for “Everyday Icons” of Season 11 of Art in the Twenty-First Century.