People

A portrait should capture more than a likeness. For me, any effort is a failure unless I manage to catch something of the essence of the sitter. As part of my process, I will do some loose sketches and take some spontaneous photographs of the subject(s) in a favorite spot, sometimes they are unaware that a photograph is being taken, and that is where you really capture people as they are, and the life within shines. When I am successful in transferring that special something to a charcoal drawing or oil painting, it's like a kind of magic happens.