I Painted 40 Portraits In 40 Days To Find Inspiration

After the bleakness of 2020, I desperately needed a way to feel positive about the future and humanity in general. I started painting portraits of people who inspired me and made it into a personal challenge, to do 100 daily portraits of people who have done or are doing inspiring things.

The people I chose were personal to me, and I know not everyone will agree with them. Also, many of them are flawed people, but that’s kind of the point: you don’t have to fit an ideal character of a human being to try to better the world.

I learned so much about so many incredible people during this project, people all over the world, current, and past. I hope that it brings a bit of inspiration to others as well.

Here’s a sample of work from that project. You can see the full 100 portraits along with brief bios of who the people are and what makes them inspiring at the link.

More info: lynellingram.com

#1 Doris Lessing

#2 Eleanor Roosevelt

#3 Harry Belafonte

#4 Albert Einstein

#5 Dalai Lama

#6 Hasina Kharbhih

#7 Mahatma Gandhi

#8 Margaret Hamilton

#9 Marie Curie

#10 Michelle Bachelet

#11 Nellie Bly

#12 Nelson Mandela

#13 Phyllis Latour Doyle

#14 Amanda Nguyễn

#15 Audre Lorde

#16 Bayard Rustin

#17 Chimamanda Ngozi

#18 Dorothy Vaughan

#19 Dylan Mcgee

#20 Frederick Douglass

#21 Harriet Tubman

#22 Jacinda Arden

#23 Jane Fonda

#24 Katherine Johnson

#25 Agnes Cho

#26 Amanda Southworth

#27 Bell Hooks

#28 Bessie Coleman

#29 Clara Barton

#30 Isabel Allende

#31 Janet Mock

#32 Ruth Bader Ginsburg

#33 Elizabeth Blackwell

#34 Houda About

#35 Ida B Wells

#36 Ava Duvernay

#37 Boyan Slat

#38 Grace Lee Boggs

#39 Joan Baez

#40 Beyoncé