Josh Stein recounts a New Year’s Eve portrait exchange that grew from the relationships formed through The Giving Project.
By Josh Stein | Anecdotes Issue 02
The Giving Project – documented at thegivingproject.art – has generated hundreds of relationships, each with its own degree of closeness. The Giving Project: After Hours is a photobook that follows a few of those connections beyond the studio and into real life.
“These photos are from that night. They make me smile. I hope they do the same for others.”
In the fall of 2025, one participant – a fellow regular at my local in Napa – challenged me to paint our friend Eddie, the bartender. The rules were simple: we had until New Year’s Eve to finish an 18” x 24” portrait and present it to him to mark the change of the year and to honor a friend who ties many of us together. These photos are from that night. They make me smile. I hope they do the same for others.

Oil on canvas, 45 x 60 cm. Josh Stein, 2025.




Josh Stein
Josh Stein is a lifelong multi-mode creative artist, musician and writer based in Napa, California. His artwork has been published and exhibited nationally and internationally.
