A Sketch Portrait, vine charcoal, 9" x 12"I've been studying portraiture for about three years now at the Columbia Arts Center. This is a quick sketch of a friend I visited recently. It was hard to get her to pose, but I believe my sketch in delicate, nervous lines, captures something of her skittish, introspective personality. Underneath, there is a strong-will, and one very resilient woman. She remarked that "her looks were changing," which I took to mean that she thought I'd made her look too old. I sympathize: last year a friend sketched me while I painted, and I was surprised to see myself as a little old lady with reading glasses. It's difficult to accept aging and do so gracefully, being aware that I too have a double chin (mine is much more pronounced) and my flesh is starting to hang down a bit in incipient jowls. Yet as an artist, I refuse to compromise too much, and feel compelled to draw what I see.
