The assisted living facility lunchtime gathering can seem like a long wait. One man took a nap. Sleeping before his lunch was very comfortable on the large sofa. Attendants were in the main hall making sure their oldies were still alive.
This sleeping man was about 20 feet away from me. I had a perfect view of him as he slept. Bless him, he hardly changed position. This sketch is with NuPastels 96 on dark gray Mi-Tiente paper. The small format of 6 x 6″ approximately is perfect for these small quick sketches. I was struggling with the 9 x 12″ for quick sketchings for weeks. The larger size kept it from being completed in the spontaneous sketch moment. The smaller size is working perfectly for these small sketches.
The above image is my first pastel sketch with a caricature quality. The string of orange and yellow ‘z’s’ makes this a cartoon sketch. Visual commentaries seem to be a natural gift of the pastel. I haven’t been able to pull that off as well in oils or watercolor. Acrylics are more like the pastels in making quick visual comments.
This man is also sleeping. Behind those dark eyeglasses, his eyes are open. This visual is a mystical awareness commentary. As an artist, I tend to see into the beauty of a person’s soul. I see the cracks and wrinkles but more than that, I tend to see their inner soul. I love what I see because it is that Light of G-d in their hearts that I connect with. But a person may not be aware of what I see. They themselves might not be awake to their own souls. Or perhaps they have not done the work on opening those aspects of themselves that radiate their beauty. Awareness mostly comes with facing their pain and character defects. Not everyone can or wishes to face their obstacles to their inner integrity and beauty. I call those people ‘sleeping’.
This person is a dear friend but even dear friends don’t always want to know what I can tell them about themselves. It is my policy to not share what they do not ask to know. Instead, I leave them sleeping their slumber in color.
