Question: But Can She Draw?

Answer: Yes, a bit.

It was 1991 when I decided to devote my time to making art and I thought I should see if I could still sketch. Granted, I'd made only a few portrait drawings in my lifetime and was never formally trained, but I always felt I had a knack for art because I knew I had inherited the talent from my artistic father. He had also taught me the basics, from proportion to perspective, when I was just a kid. So I grabbed an album cover with jazz composer and singer Michael Franks on it and made my first five-minute sketch. I figured that imposing a time limit on myself would prevent over-thinking it. I was pleased that I was able to get at least a very rough likeness that quickly.

Also in 1991, I saw a photograph of a Noh actor looking at his mask prior to a performance. The intensity of his concentration as he got into character was fascinating, so I decided to make a drawing. This time it was my artistic partner, John, who explained the concept of volume to me.

I love this little girl's freckles! This quick sketch was also made in 1991 and was my first attempt using colored pencils. I discovered that adding the element of color to a drawing would require a new way of thinking.

In 1992, I made this sketch of our young friend, Sophie, who lives in New Mexico. I find it hard to believe that so much time has passed. She will be thirty in just a couple of weeks.

Soon I turned my attention to making other types of art and sketched rarely after those first few years. But I was a fan of "American Idol" and thought it would be fun to draw the irascible Simon Cowell. Coincidentally, I also had the pleasure at that time of meeting all of the "American Idol" judges and the final "Top Ten" contestants at a Television Academy event -- this was way back in season two (2003). It will undoubtedly come as a surprise to many people that Simon Cowell is a very charming gentleman in real life, quite unlike the guy on screen during the show. This drawing depicts him suffering through yet another horrible audition. I enjoyed trying to capture him in colored pencil using an experimental swirly mix of color. Looking at it now, I'm quite tempted to refine the technique.

I've made only a few portrait sketches since then and will try to track them down to post. It's probably time to draw more, too; I seem to make a few new ones every decade! I wonder sometimes what might have happened had I studied art seriously and worked on realistic drawing and painting. It's never too late to learn, so maybe I'll find out. . . .