Today’s watercolor experiment:

Dad died 8 years ago today (by the lunar calendar). I lit a candle and tried drawing him from memory. Dad had a distinctive face and, of all the people I’ve (tried to) sketch, he seemed to be the easiest for me.

Seemed to be…

After I finished the portrait, I showed it to my wife. She guessed who it was…. after five tries, the first of which was ‘The Pope’. Go figure…

Dad, From Memory
12″x9″ 140# Cold Pressed Watercolor Block

Am I forgetting my father or am I not translating my memory to the page properly.  I will never forget Dad, so I think the latter is the closest to the truth. He taught me a lot and encouraged me to be curious about anything and everything. I am probably not grieving any more but rather thinking about what he taught me, looking at things more in the way he may have and wondering what he would think of what is going on today. I almost reach for the phone sometimes to call him to have a chat.

A faithful image is not as important as the message it carries, the message that the artist abstracts and puts down on paper. Personally, I think my painting does look like my father. I was hoping to capture the light of the candle in the foreground on his face a bit more dramatically, but I am reasonably satisfied with this portrait.