Portraiture goes beyond a face on a canvas; a single work can give you a glimpse of the subject's soul.
Every brushstroke and detail tells a story of who that person is. And underneath, they can even tell a tale about the artist.
"I never thought I was good at art," said Alison Schuchs, a Scottish-born now Corpus Christi-based artist.
That's a surprising detail at first glance, considering Schuchs is one of four featured artists in the exhibit “Portraiture: Four Perspectives” at the Beeville Art Museum.
Growing up in the Scottish coastal town of Dunoon, Schuchs believed she wasn't good at art because she wasn't fast enough.
"I didn't realize some artists take weeks on one painting," she said. "Of course, the art teacher was like she expected it in 45 minutes, you know. So I just didn't think I was gifted at all."
Life events would help add unique details her present-day picture. After falling in love and marrying an American sailor, Schuchs followed her husband back home to the United States. They raised their family of two daughters in Mississippi, and Schuchs even worked in graphic design for a sign shop for a season.
The strokes that make up Schuchs’ life and art journey were, at times, painful. Especially in 2003, with the tragic loss of her daughter, Carrie, who was an art student in college.
"I didn't really take up [art] as therapy, but it turned into therapy," she said. "What inspired me too was, you know, going callthrough all her things, and a lot of her art there was all these doodles of herself. She did these little cartoon faces mainly."
Part of Schuchs’ healing began in a nonprofit coffee shop that she and her husband ran, named in honor of their daughter. "Carrie's Coffee House" provided teenagers with a safe hangout. Unintentionally, it also created an opportunity for Schuchs to develop her artistic ability.
"When the kitchen closed, it'd be kind of a quiet time, so I would get books to read," she said.
One of those books was "How to Draw Lifelike Portraits from Photographs" by Lee Hammond.
"I started drawing with that book, and I drew for about two years before I ever started considering color," she said. "It was then I realized that I have aphantasia as well, which maybe had something to do with my reluctance to try color at first."
Although unable to visualize mental images, she soon had portraits of her patrons all over the coffeehouse walls.
Carrie’s Coffee House also served as a nod to the locale where Schuchs and her husband met in the Scottish Highlands. Family brought her to the U.S., and family would eventually bring her to Corpus Christi. The Schuchs moved to the city in 2020 to be closer to their grandchildren.
"I love it," she said. "There are so many amazing artists here and people that just are so supportive to the arts. Everywhere you go, there's always something to do in Corpus Christi. I don't understand people that say you have to go off to, you know, other places to do things."
Along with art displays and competitions, Schuchs keeps herself busy with a community group who paint portraits together at the Art Center of Corpus Christi. Since moving to Corpus Christi, she has done over 300 portraits of people in the community.
"And it's just so much fun."
Her artwork has been featured across South Texas, including the current exhibition in Beeville.
Beeville Art Museum Director Tracy Saucier says there’s more to portraiture than just a painting of someone’s physical likeness.
"Oftentimes, included in the portrait are kind of like clues that tell you a little bit about that person," she said. "Maybe what their profession is, what their hobbies are, perhaps where they live."
Something that Saucier says Schuchs has caught on to well.
"She’s a self-taught artist, which, looking at her artwork, is amazing and shocking that she's self-taught," she said.
One of Schuchs’ favorite works, currently displayed in the Art Museum of South Texas in Corpus Christi, is a portrait of late local icon Ronnie “Pointy Boots” Mathis. He died earlier this year from prostate cancer. Schuchs painted the portrait of him in 2024.
"So glad I did that," she said. "[I] Just felt led to capture him. Everywhere he walked, he, his clothes and his belt buckles, and everything that he made, he was just a walking artist. So I felt like he needed represented, you know."
As portraits have demonstrated the preservation of history for centuries, Mathis’ legacy lives on in Schuchs painting; which continues to inspire the eye of the beholder.
"Best work of art I've ever seen, and Ronnie looks great in it," said Mike Barnes, a long-time friend of Mathis. He and his wife attended the unveiling of Schuchs' portrait in 2024.
Her artworks have etched numerous faces, praises and accolades across Mississippi and South Texas over the past 15 years. She also hopes it will inspire others to pursue a passion she found later in life.
"I just enjoy sharing my love for art, hoping that I'll encourage some child," she said. "Teenagers come up to you and start asking questions and talking to you. There's no better feeling than . . . trying to tell them how much fun it is to paint."
“Portraiture: Four Perspectives” continues through July 18 at the Beeville Art Museum. It’s free and open to the public.
