Opportunities for Observation

 

3/19/25 Brian

Like my fellow light rail commuters, Greg’s cohorts at Aegis Living make great human studies and opportunities for observation. When I first started making these sketches, I hesitated to share them because I wondered if they would be considered invasive. But the more I draw them, the more I think of these small portraits as a way to honor individuals in the last stage of their lives. I try to capture them as unique people, not caricatures or generic figures.

3/22/25 Linda

3/22/25 Val

3/28/25

4/7/25 The spouse guy waiting for lunch.

During group activities, I’m usually sitting right next to the spouse guy, so it’s difficult to sketch him. Every now and then I take him outside the memory care area to the general diningroom so that we can have lunch together. This sketch doesn’t capture a good likeness, but it’s a rare sketch of him that I’ve made from life.

Meanwhile, at a nearby table, one of the kitchen staff came to talk to Russ about the utensils he seemed to be collecting in his pockets. With much gentleness and compassion, the staff member asked Russ to relinquish the tableware – and discovered an entire drinking glass in his pocket, too. I was amused to see that entertaining co-residents are on the assisted living side, too.

Technical note: After my Pentel Pocket Brush Pen ran dry during a recent cherry tree sketch, I decided to grab a prefilled Kuretake Brush Writer instead of taking the time to refill the Pentel. I really like the Kuretake’s brush tip, especially for life drawing gestures (I used it on the portrait of Ernest Theodore). Unfortunately, it has the bad habit of blorping out ink unexpectedly and making a mess, which happened as I pulled it out to sketch Greg. (I initially learned that lesson the hard way nearly 13 years ago!) That’s why I decided to use a purple Derwent Inktense pencil instead. I don’t know why, but I rarely consider using pencil for a life portrait . . . it seems too time-consuming for a gesture, I suppose. But sometimes I like the more sensitive quality of a pencil line compared to the bold, unforgiving marks of a brush pen (which I also appreciate for different reasons).