Portrait of Clarence Thomas

This is a portrait of Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. Born 1948, he was nominated by George H. W. Bush and confirmed in 1991 by a vote of 52 to 48, thus by senators representing 49% of the population of the US (DC excluded). My goal was to capture some of his personality. Clarence Thomas is a very conservative member of the court, a textualist, who many would argue often looks to the letter of the law before the practical effect of the law. While I painted this, I listened to him speak, and he comes off as a warm, compassionate person, and one who takes pride in having pulled himself up with his own talent. It's a small painting, but it feels right. The original is 10" x 7".