Gioacchino

Tonnaroti are Italian tuna fishermen. They get together in the spring to catch and slaughter the fish in a gathering called a matanza and are led by a shaman-like figure known as a rais. Gioacchino was a former one. I read about this in an article from a magazine and his picture captured my attention. He is a very large bull of a man with bicepts as big as his neck. As Bertie Wooster once said "It's as though Nature decided to make a gorilla, but at the last minute changed it's mind." I found his face extremely interesting and full of expression. I needed to draw it.

Barney

There are definitely beautiful movie stars in the US but I've grown rather tired of all the pretty faces the entertainment industry promotes. That seems to be mostly all there is. Films and television are full of images of people without spot or wrinkle. Blemishes or lack of facial symmetry cannot be tolerated. Noses, eyes, ears, and lips must all harmoniously relate on one's visage or you cannot be a star. A body must have perfect flesh. Once in a while there will be a "character" face that will come along. But they will normally be some foppish protagonist or an evil one, rarely the main character. I like Boston Legal. I have to sometimes turn it off because the plot gets too crass but the main folks on there are of the non-beautiful variety. They've aged. They're wrinkled. Some are fat. It's nice. I also like to take in a foreign film once in a while. It's a refreshing break from the "norm". Their stars usually look as though they're not from the Hollywood Barbi and Ken factory.

Barney is the security guard at the church I attend. I was immediately drawn to his looks when I first saw him and wanted to do his portrait. His face facinates me. It has been sculpted and chisled by genetics, weather and life experiences. It has much to say if you care to take the time to look. There must be many stories beneath. If I were a film magnate, I'd make him a star.

Fear

Fear is like a hologram.

It appears so real.

And then when you go behind it

you realize there is nothing there.

It's all an illusion.

Jane Stern

"Ambulance Girl"

Lunch

I was wandering around downtown Portland in Winter 2006 and noticed the bag perched on a window sill of a large building. I checked out its contents and found a hamburger inside. A homeless man, all bundled up for the cold, came along and did as I did just after I took the photo. He was obviously hungry because the bag went with him.

I think life is kind of like the picture at times for me. I tend to see things in black and white. I'm rather opinionated. There are also many times that I view my existence in drab greys. I then come across something that really catches my interest, I get totally focused and run with it.

Sue

Good friend and wife of Mike. She's an excellent cook, Artist, and is opinionated as I am.

Mike

A very intelligent fellow and good friend. He understands and speaks fluent Electron and can also make a mighty fine bottle of wine.

Backwards

You can't go backwards

You must go forward

You have not been what you could be

When you are the only one who enslaves you

Then you're the only one who can set yourself free

-

Don't run away

Question the Answers

Live your life like it's on fire

Your one mistake is to think

That you've made one

Don't run away

-

You can't have mountains without the valleys

You can't grow high if you won't go deep

You can't do over what you've done already

Expecting something new to see

-

I will not be bought

I won't be caged

Won't stay behind these walls where it's safe

-

No

-

I'm tired of trying to compensate for you

Kendall Payne

The Fam

Who am I O Sovereign Lord

And what is my family

That your have

brought me this far?

David

Melancholy

I must confess I did this rough sketch from a painted portrait I found in a magazine. What attracted me was the look in the model's eyes and how the artist had captured them. I wanted to do the same so I gave them the greatest detail.

Winter

I took this in Oregon last winter around the house where I lived. There was a field of weeds and this one caught my eye. I like it because of the delicate and graceful shapes. There are a whole lot of metaphors to go along with this photo. I'll let you imagine your own.