Laid Bare

Rolling In The Deep
Song by Adele

“There's a fire starting in my heart
Reaching a fever pitch and it's bringin' me out the dark
Finally I can see you crystal clear
Go ahead and sell me out and I'll lay your shit bare”

"…and I’ll lay your shit bare"...the lyrics, as captioned above, don't necessarily fit THIS blog topic, but I found myself stuck on those few words as it relates to an amazing statement made by a client, after some decidedly uncomplimentary comments were left on a stylized pen sketch I’d created of her. Here's what went down:

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Andrea Muhammad: The sketch is truly beautiful, not because it is me, but because of the talent and artistry that poured onto the paper from the soul of an artist who uses a pen. Whenever an artist puts their skill to use, he or she opens themselves up to others and shares a portion of themselves as well as their perspective with us all. This makes them vulnerable to us and that is why I love both this sketch and the sketch of our daughter. It is because I get to see us through the expression of Terri Meredith. I get to be vulnerable as the subject while she is vulnerable as the artist and in that we have both shared in the experience. Grateful...
March 16 at 9:03pm • Unlike • 2

Terri UrbanaSpeakz Meredith: Wow, that was absolute poetry...and I thank you for this, because I have to honestly say that it's the first time I've REALLY thought about how vulnerable the client leaves themselves when it comes to an interpretation of what they know themselves to be. It made me stop and really think about what may shine through subconsciously when I'm not even aware of it. They don't just SAY you learn something new every day, they really mean it. You gave me so much to think about.
March 16 at 9:37pm • Like • 1


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I never TRULY considered the subject’s vulnerability until the model/subject, Andrea, wrote that. I was aware that a client may not like my depiction…but I never TRULY thought about the fact that I may emphasize features that I find beautiful, that a client does not. I may think that a person’s wrinkles are precisely what makes them appear to be pleasant and welcoming, while they may wish they didn’t exist at all.

For me personally, I have a slightly swollen neck because of a thyroid condition. The more weight I’m holding, the more pronounced it is. An artist drawing me who leans toward realism is going to draw that puffiness that I wish wasn’t there…but it is there...and that will be what the artist is seeing. It’s within their rights to depict it. As the model/subject, it’s within my rights to sincerely wish they hadn’t. An artist will have just laid my shit bare, and when you are commissioning that artist, the chance that they will focus on the very thing that you are most uncomfortable with is a very real possibility. It made me aware that my subject, every single one of them, is laying their shit bare – and hoping that my interpretation will be flattering….that it will cause them to shine, and that I will manage to play up every attribute that they truly love about themselves, and softening or eliminating altogether the ones that they don’t. It is a game of chance, where the best of intentions are at the forefront.

As an artist, I can only hope to convey the beauty and unique attributes/features that I see in my models/subjects. As an artist, I have to understand that what I may consider a successful depiction of what I’m seeing (consciously and subconsciously) may be an absolute “fail” in the model/subject’s opinion. They may feel I’ve made them look “mean”, or “shifty”, or just altogether “unattractive”. I have to live with the times that I won’t be able to remedy that, even after drawing it over, because what I see is what I see, and I simply may never see you exactly as you do.

We are both laying our shit bare, I get that now, because previously, it was ONLY about my vulnerability to criticism…with me not understanding that my models can feel that my depictions are critiques on…them.

Thank you for trusting me. Thank you for laying your shit bare. We’re in this together.




DISCLAIMER: Typed quickly, I will come back to check for grammatical errors and typos, please be lenient.