Like Pornography

11/8/13 Diamine Eclipse, 100 lb. paper

I often spend bus commuting time surreptitiously sketching fellow passengers. Today on my way to and from the Convention Center was no different, except I was particularly motivated to do as many as possible to catch up on my NaNoDrawMo deficit for the week (I think I’m caught up now, so if I sketch one or two a day for the rest of the month, I’ll meet the goal).

Looking at the five very fast bus portraits (see the rest in my Flickr photostream), I noticed that in the one I did of a man looking at his phone (at right) I somehow managed to capture his essence, whatever that is. I’d venture to guess that his friends would recognize him in this sketch, as the resemblance is better than most of my people sketches. But resemblance is not what I mean when I say “essence.” The younger man that I sketched listening to his iPod (below) is also a reasonably good resemblance, but I don’t think I captured his essence. I wish I could quantify or articulate this concept more clearly. It’s like pornography: I can’t define it, but I know it when I see it.

11/8/13 Diamine Chocolate Brown ink, Sketchbook Project sketchbook