Lindsay van Ekelenburg | Beverly Crusher “Star Trek: The Next Generation”

“ "If there's nothing wrong with me, maybe there's something wrong with the universe!" It is hard to convey how much I adore Beverly Crusher. When I was a kid, I always stopped what I was doing to go and watch TNG when it would come on in the evening, and I was always excited when it was a Bev episode. There she was, a woman strong in her convictions, always facing something unknown and dangerous but never giving up - not on herself and not on those in her care. Whenever she was faced with adversity, she snapped open that tricorder and found a solution. I don’t think Bev would be this amazing if it weren’t for the incredible job Gates McFadden does bringing her to life. Much like her character, Gates never gave up in the face of adversity. She fought hard for her character and all the other women characters and actors involved in TNG, standing strong what she knew was right and never backing down. I look up to both Bev and Gates for strength, especially when the universe wants me to back down. For my tribute portrait, I wanted to capture a moment of realization, a eureka moment in this piece: the dawning of an idea, the split moment before she says she’s got it. And as we all know, you can always count on Bev to solve the problem and save the day.”

— Lindsay van Ekelenburg