[David Draime]

Thank you, Chris, for your generous remarks. "Tak" in Ukrainian simply means "Yes." This was the slogan of the opposition's campaign.

Originally Posted by Carlos Ygoa

David, I don't think that one has to be Ukrainian for this to have resonance. This old man's face is everywhere, just the features that change but the face is the same all over the world. Carlos

Carlos, thank you very much. I've been thinking about what you said. While I was there, I asked myself why did all these faces seem different, and why was I so attracted to them? - that I wanted to draw or paint nearly everyone I saw, certainly the older people I saw. I haven't felt that nearly as much here in the US. Are they really any different than old people here in Southern California, or anywhere for that matter? I'm thinking that context has everything to do with it. It may be something as simple as a scarf on an elderly woman, or the kind of Russian fur hats that are worn there. And that kind of cultural reference is something that's easily translatable - and even becomes pronounced - in a drawing or painting.

Originally Posted by Richard Monro

What medium did you use...colored pencil, pen?

Thanks Richard. The materials are the same as most of my other drawings - charcoal pencils with white chalk highlights on tinted paper. The orange was done with just an orange pastel pencil.

Thank you so much Garth. To be honest, I was thinking about not posting this one because, frankly, I was sick of looking at it. I started this one before my last post ('Abdu'l-Baha profile) and I was kind of working in a way I wanted to move beyond. It was all I could do to finish this one. Everything but the face was extremely tedious for me - especially the zipper! And it was taking SO long...and the reference wasn't great, etc. But I thought of something Mike McCarty wrote somewhere to someone - that having started a project, we owe it to ourselves to see it through, not to give up. Now I'm glad I didn't give up.

Originally Posted by Mike McCarty

I hope you will be able to get a copy back to the subject.

I suppose it's possible, six degrees of separation an' all (I didn't get his name or number). I'm now thinking of making some giclees of this to sell - to some of the Ukrainian folks here, or when I go back to Ukraine - though in western Ukraine I suppose the most I could get for them would be a few kopeks and a bit of goat cheese.