Through a glass darkly

Confusing time at the day job. An issue came up that perplexed me and nobody else. It might be a curse, it might be a blessing, but at the moment I can't tell which and no one seemed to notice it at all.

Going out at lunchtime for a stroll helped a bit and on my way home I ran into a local artist, making art on the beach. I decided to join him and our conversation helped lift my confusion. I took a good portrait of him but he said it couldn't go on the internet. Could he be an international man of mystery?