Fun with senior citizens
 

I posted recently that I had made arrangements to draw from life at a senior living center. The manager had only found two people interested in having their portrait done, but heck, two live models is okay by me.

Well, by the time I drew the first two, everyone else in the building wanted a portrait. I think this will be a regular part of my drawing regimen as long as I have willing models.

To be honest, I was having performance anxiety -- worried I would draw miserably. The first portrait was a bit too stiff, but the second was much looser. I drew three in all, and have a list of future sitters.

TIP: When driving 35 miles to draw people, don't forget to bring paper. I left mine on the kitchen counter and had to run out to an art supply place AFTER arriving at the senior center. That was embarrasing.

P.S. A resident snapped this picture and emailed it to me.

Good for you Jeff. This is good on so many levels.

Thanks Mike.

Every resident I met was a Katrina refugee. Most told me they wanted a portrait because they had lost every picture they had. Some want me to draw them multiple times.

That's great news, Jeff! Can you take pictures of your work before you give it away and share them with us?

Jeff, I am SO glad you are doing this--for you, for them--it's a win-win situation. That glimpse we have of your drawing looks wonderful. That is hysterical how you started with two models and ended up with everyone wanting to be drawn! What a good story.

Great story Jeff, seniors are just about the best to draw. So much life in their faces! Your drawing looks very nice also. I too hope you can post your results.

Jean

Thanks for the comments. Here's the image. The other two weren't photographed. They may email them to me later, though. I'll bring my camera (and paper) in the future.

I realized I'd mis-aligned the eyes only after receiving the jpg in my inbox.

Nice, Jeff !

(I originally asked about model releases here, but I think you already mentioned that)

When do you go back?

Julie,

I didn't go back. This was sent to me at the same time as the first one. I posted it at your request.

I wasn't going to post it, as my skills are not up to SOG standards, but since you asked...

I'm hoping that regular life work will help sharpen my skills.

No question about it - your drawing is good, and I can't wait to see your future posts.

Dear Jeff,

Your drawing is lovely . Do not feel for one moment it doesn't meet the "standard". I feel so excited to hear of your project, please post more.

I love everything about this story, Jeff, including your drawing.

It is quite a wonderful drawing.

If anyone wants to feel better, I should post MY drawing of kids at a barbeque fundraiser.

It is a great and original way to keep the eyes and hand sharp and develop a personal style.

Jeff, what an admirable and wonderful project to undertake - more power to your elbow as they say!!

I can't wait to see more of your drawings - please do post again soon!

Hi Jeff, I spotted this thread today - are you still doing this project? What a wonderful project, I hope you are still doing it.

I just wanted to say that I think a full-faced pose with a single light source is easier to manage if you are doing multiple drawings of various people, especially if they aren't professional models and are very sqwiggly. In a 2/3rds face pose you have to keep that far orbital bone exactly lined up and the iris/sclera shape exactly right or else the eyes get out of alignment really fast.

(Just my opinion here, others may differ on this.)

Great work and idea Jeff!

I had the same idea at the beginning of this year, but each time the thought resurfaces I get cold feet and procrastinate as I am not confident in draughtsman skills yet.

Any tips how to put your foot in the door?

Ngaire,

I had serious performance anxiety, but went ahead and did it anyway. Give it a try.

As for getting started, all I did was place an ad in FreeCeycle. At the time, Craigslist did not have a local forum for my area. Now they do. They'd be another good choice.

FreeCycle requires you to place ads only for things that you are giving away, so I gave away portraits. I got a lot of responses, but most turned out to be tire kickers who sent an email or two, but probably felt uneasy about it, and didn't follow through. I think my senior citizens followed through because of the safety of their building. I drew them in the lobby, and other people were around.

Linda,

I haven't been back since that day. I need to contact them again. I STILL have that performance anxiety! Thanks for the advice, though the lighting is not easy to control. They have regular commercial fluorescents overhead. Not much I can do about it.

I'm currently doing self portraits in front of a mirror.

Great Jeff!

If I was going to do another self portrait; the last one looked like a was sucking on a lemon, I would be doing a senior citizen.

What a great drawing!
 

Hey Jeff,
Don't think for one moment this is not SOG worthy. I love your style and your drawing is excellent. It is not easy to draw from life and have such fine results - at least not with me. And this is the FIRST drawing of yours I have seen (granted I have been away for a year) and was blown away. So stop thinking you are not good enough and start posting your drawings, PLEASE!!!!!

Jeff:
You might someday receive a message like this:
"would you please call or e-mail me. I want to
> discuss a possible
> portrait with you. My phone is ...
> will appreciate it.

Jeff:
You might someday receive a message from a senior center,( where I'm teaching):
"would you please call or e-mail me. I want to
> discuss a possible
> portrait with you. My phone is ...
> will appreciate it.