'A Brush with Philosophy' was created by Vanessa Brassey while researching and writing up her PhD. Struggling to make sense of a wealth of technical information and eager to slow down and really pay attention to important conversations, Vanessa started to paint portraits of her key colleagues, mentors and supervisors. The goal each time was to capture a Eureka moment - or a moment that encapsulated the essence of these long running conversations. Sometimes the discussions unfolded over several years. These initial portraits will soon be catalogued below along with phase II of the project.

Having completed her doctorate, Vanessa joined the Philosophy Department at King's College London as an AEP lecturer. This coincided with the need to conduct all learning online, remotely, distanced and apart. She decided to continue her initial project by recruiting philosophy experts in several fields to offer a 15-minute free consultation with anyone who wanted to think over a thorny issue. The conversations were held and hosted on zoom and participants would have their portraits painted. Initially expecting to get a handful of positive responses, there were a whopping 30 sessions run in June 2021.

A huge thanks must go to Giulia Corti, Dr Jake Wotjowicz, Dr Zoi Aliozi, Dr Paola Romero, Dr Jenny Judge and Professor Aaron Wedlend for offering their time so generously. We were delighted that Charlotte Kearsley and Alice Wright both contributed portraits (as the numbers mounted). And of course, we were ecstatic about the wonderful participants who responded, engaged with the primer puzzles and met with their experts.