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Illustrator Will Create a Free Portrait of You in Exchange for Your Secrets

100 Days Of Secrets

“My parents think I quit smoking.”

For most artists, you’ve got to pay them if you want to own a piece of their work. But illustrator and art director Terence Eduarte will create a portrait of you for free—with one caveat. In exchange for a stylish digital image of yourself, you’ve got to let Eduarte in on one of your secrets. It’s part of his 100 day project aptly called 100 Days of Secrets, and it has his friends and total strangers spilling “silly secrets and unexpected confessions” to him.

Each of Eduarte’s illustrations are done with respect of privacy to his subjects. The images are colorful yet vague, and they never reveal the defining features of someone’s face. Sometimes, the folks hold an animal or are wearing glasses, but that’s about as specific as Eduarte is willing to get. And, it’s easy to see why; some of the secrets are incredibly sad—like the person who confessed, “Half of my friends are people I wish I never met.”

Others are less tragic, and they reflect just how much social media rules our lives: “I don't like the taste of coffee,” a woman tells Eduarte. “I can't even stand hot coffee. But sometimes I buy it anyway just so I can take a picture of it.”

UPDATE: Eduarte has completed the 100 Days of Secrets series. It will be on exhibit at ASPACE Greenbelt in Makati City, Philippines starting September 10, 2017.

Terence Eduarte's 100 day project called 100 Days of Secrets has a simple-yet-alluring premise: tell him a secret and he'll create a picture of you for free. Read the confessions he received below.

100 Day Project

“I love dogs, but sometimes I worry I'll end up an old dog lady.”

100 Day Project

“I secretly dream of being a porn star.”

100 Day Project Ideas

“I catfish guys on random dating sites. I enjoy pretending to be someone who I'm not.”

The 100 Day Project

“I secretly hide behind my humor. I can be seething in anger and tell jokes five minutes later.”

100 Days Of Secrets

“My first kiss was with my high school best friend. I was in an all-boys high school.”

100 Day Project Ideas

“I want to ask my half-sister if our estranged dad ever touched her back when they were living under the same roof. Or was I his only victim?”

100 Days Of Secrets

“I dated my professor back in college. I was 23, she was 37.”

100 Days Of Secrets

“I wish I could be like my boyfriend's ex-girlfriend. She's very beautiful and confident. Unlike me, jealous and insecure.”

100 Day Project

“I secretly get aroused whenever I see supercars.”

Cool Indie Art

“Five years ago, I caught my third girlfriend cheating on me. That was the time I decided to have a boyfriend instead.”

Cool Indie Art

“I have a crippling fear of abandonment. I use machismo to hide it because I feel like it makes me weak.”

Cool Indie Art

“I don't like the taste of coffee. I can't even stand hot coffee. But sometimes I buy it anyway just so I can take a picture of it.”

Cool Indie Art

“Half of my friends are people I wish I never met.”

Cool Indie Art

“I created an imaginary friend as a coping mechanism for my depression. Now I want to make her disappear but she keeps coming back.”

100 Days Of Secrets

“I bought my bras from a lady near a church. They're really nice.”

100 Day Project

“I always check if my friends are doing well, but people rarely ask how I am.”

100 Day Project Ideas

“I wear heels and dress to the nines whenever my head is in a dark space.”

100 Day Project Ideas

“I was 19 when I found out that I have a genetic disease that usually affects post-menopausal women. There's a big possibility that I can't have children someday and there is no way to prevent it.”

100 Day Project Ideas

“All I've ever wanted is to end my life, but I'm a coward so I hurt myself in places people wouldn't see.”

100 Days Of Secrets

“I like playing with other people's feelings because I'm unsure about mine.”

100 Days Of Secrets

“My daughter doesn't know that her lost cat is home. He is buried in our backyard”

Terence Eduarte: Website | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to use photos by Terence Eduarte.

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Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled 'Embroidered Life' that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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