Over the years, Ms. Sherald’s figurative painting has evolved into a stylized realism — a gray skin palette punctuated by colorful pieces of clothing on a flat plane. She makes only about 13 paintings a year. “It’s hard for me to find people to paint,” she said. “There has got to be something about them that only I can see.” “They exist in a place of the past, the present and the future,” she added. “It’s like something I sense with my spirit more than my mind.” Ms. Sherald only paints African-Americans. Having studied European art history, she is keenly aware of the scarcity of black faces. “There’s not enough images of us,” she said. (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/23/arts/design/amy-sherald-michelle-obama-official-portrait.html?ribbon-ad-idx=5&rref=arts&module=Ribbon&version=context®ion=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Arts&pgtype=article)