Masks

 

During the year-plus of the pandemic before I was vaccinated, I stayed mostly isolated at home, so I wore a mask only for minutes at a time, not hours, while running quick errands. I’ve been getting out more the second half of this year and therefore wearing a mask for longer sustained periods. I have gained a lot more empathy for everyone who has had to wear a mask all day at work for nearly two years. How tiresome that must be! During classes, sketch outings and other occasions when masking for hours is necessary, I can’t wait to take it off – and those are all recreational activities that aren’t required for my livelihood. Sometimes I take breaks outdoors just so I can remove it and feel fresh air on my face for a few minutes. But I’m resigned to the reality that masks in confined areas will likely remain the norm for a long while yet.

I miss sketching entire faces – there’s not as much challenge in just the eyes and hair – but I’m trying to make it more interesting by looking for ways to draw masks to show their form. On the light rail train, some seats face each other at a fair distance. It’s easy to sketch frontal portraits without my victims noticing that they are being sketched. Even a back view will give me a new way to draw a mask. I hate wearing them, but I don’t hate sketching them.

12/12/21 light rail passengers