I have had an interest in faces throughout my artistic life. Nothing has the capacity to express what it is to be alive as directly as the face. Many of my “realistic” colored pencil drawings feature family and friends and focus attention on the basic features without elements we often use, like hair and face shape, for recognition. The process of prolonged looking points out to me just how little we actually see those we know best. 

One of the things I am constantly amazed by is how children’s faces successfully combine the features of both parents no matter how impossible it would seem to blend such dissimilar looks. I am still exploring new ways to present my portrait drawings that compare and contrast facial features and highlight relationships and race. (These digital mashups are based on original drawings of full faces using Prismacolor pencil on colored paper approximately 6 1/4 x 9 3/4 inches)