After years of working directly from the subject, a process that involves many portrait sittings, Ms. Berry now works from photographs which she takes at the initial sitting.

She uses natural light to set up the form and color, taking many pictures in order to capture a pose that is natural.

"Even in the traditional format of the portrait an artist can strive for intensity and artistic wholeness. Naturally. the portrait client is most interested in the likeness. It is important to me to maintain the integrity of the painting while capturing the spirit of the subject. One hopes that the result is a 'presence,' as well as a likeness."

"The artist, as Renoir put it, searches for a balance between 'observation and vision.' In this century, if people want an absolute imitation of life, they know they can have a photograph taken.

"Most of the people who come to me want more than that - they want to see the subject through the artist's eye."