Everett Kinstler is one of the best portraitists in America, and has become that by being one of the best conversationalists in America.

He gets very important people to sit for him, and sit still, by being incredibly loquacious, and doing what many people to find too difficult – he listens. He explains his tactic: “I feel a responsibility to capture both the spirit and likeness of the people I paint, and so I prefer my sitters to be animated rather than motionless. Carrying on a lively conversation as I work helps. In so doing, I also get to see other facets of my subject that I can perhaps incorporate into the portrait.” Kinstler has painted some of the most prominent people in history including Gerald and Betty Ford, Ronald Reagan, John Wayne, Bill Clinton, Salvador Dalí, Dr. Seuss, Katherine Hepburn, Tom Wolfe, Donald Trump, Carol Burnett, Clint Eastwood, Christopher Plummer, and more. The list goes on and on and on and on. The man has more than 100 paintings in the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, if that gives you any indication of how prolific he is. It’s bananas.

Portraiture wasn’t his first gig though. Kinstler started with pulp illustrations, comics, and paperback book covers at the age of 16. It was the “Golden Age” of comic book artists and it was said that Kinstler “specialized in cowboys and cleavage.” He drew masculinity and boobs so well that he got into and studied at the Art Students League. He eventually switched over to portraiture and just like that his cleavage days were over. Portraiture was a teeny bit more lucrative and also more interesting. He has since painted over 50 Cabinet members, seven Presidents, and many movie stars, comedians, artists, and authors. It’s no wonder that the man is a good talker. He has so much to tell. Imagine all of the secrets he must have collected over the years of painting the most prominent people in America. That’s why his eyebrows are so big… They’re full of secrets.