When I first came to New York in 1979, one of the first shows I saw was Chuck Close’s. Having only seen his paintings in reproduction up to that point, I was struck by how big they were. I had seen them primarily as portraits, but with the large scale, they took on another meaning. I began to think about scale in relation to portraiture. Later I figured out how to do the small miniature portraits that I currently do. Years ago, after we met, I asked him if he would pose for photos to do a portrait, and he was kind enough to agree.