I was thinking about the walk that I went on years ago, with my parents and Mike, my older brother. I took many photographs that day. In a couple of them it seems that I recorded a human connection. I cherish those instants in time, but I really wish I could have more of them and more than just a feeling that we connected. I have been unable to ever form any meaningful communication with Mike. He is autistic, low functioning and nonverbal.
Most of my work has been abstract for quite some time. Today I wanted to recreate with my own hand, a likeness of my brother looking at me. I had forgotten how difficult it is for me to draw faces. Even though I am not satisfied with my efforts, I display them below:
Walk with Mike – Sketch
9″x12″ Drawing Paper
Walk With Mike – Watercolor
9″x12″ 140# Cold Pressed Watercolor Block
I really wanted to faithfully reproduce his smile and his eye looking at me.
The original photos are shown below:
Lots of emotion in these. You don’t need a mirror image, in fact, sometimes better without. (K)
Thank you K. I see the emotion in the photographs. I wasn’t able to get the facial proportions correct in the sketch. That was frustrating and the result, I think, distracted from the elements I wanted to highlight (his eye and his smile). More practice!
Always!