The years go by like sweet little days, yes? Over a year since a post in here. Which is fine. The universe is pretty much indifferent.
I like to draw in bed, often. Or, read. Early in this year i had the idea to practice portraits sitting up in bed, sketching from an image on the smartphone. Then, the idea came--why not use mug shots? A mug shot is so not "posed," or made-up, or air-brushed, etc. It seemed like a good idea in the moment. Honesty. Emotion (maybe a lot). All of that. And, straightforward. No three-quarter views, etc.
After a couple of weeks, or less, another idea: none of these folks asked for their picture to be put online. Or, gave me permission to draw them. Was this series really a "fair use"? The whole thing seemed suddenly exploitative.
Then, I heard some other artist somewhere actually painted vintage mug shots and put the crime on the canvas. I stopped drawing mug shots then and there. The end.
But, in doing it, however short lived, it was remarkable how beautiful and/or compelling these faces could be, as much as any official portrait. "Mug Shot" is one more bucket of expectation that puts parameters around what we think we see. Just as "Wedding Portrait" is. Putting a designation on an image is no substitute for looking. Which is a bigger post. Which maybe I'll write next year.
Instead, this is it for now. I've done a bunch of odd-sox drawings using French curves. Right--a complete 180 from mug shots. That was the idea. I'll post those soon.