Congratulations Best New Artist Grammy winner, Esperanza Spalding!

Like a breath of fresh air, she arrives with the promise of spring.

Abraham Lincoln--A drawing experience

My recently completed drawing

My reference, a portrait from mid-1860's.

What an amazing person Abraham Lincoln was.  Did you know:

• He was a wrestler, and he rarely lost.
• He once tracked an ordinary person down after he had brushed him off, just to apologize for his brusqueness.
• He was prone to depression.
• He once visited a dying man, a union soldier, on his deathbed, and held his hand, kissed him on the forehead, and told him he "must live!"  And the man did.
• During the ceremonial celebration after the was was over, he requested that the band play "Dixie."

I've been reading a compilation of stories about Lincoln, and I learned a lot that I never knew.  The wrestling thing explains all the tiny scars on the left side of his face, and the way his left eye points in a slightly different direction.  I see a lot of trauma survived in that face, and some of it probably wasn't physical. 

The discipline of drawing is helping me to understand a lot about myself, too.  I've looked at this face hundreds of times and never really seen it . . .I wonder what else I'm missing?

Drawing Abe

I've been working on a portrait of Abe Lincoln.  I had no particular plan for this other than practice; he has a very interesting face.  I've found that as I draw someone, I feel compelled to know more about them.  How did that little line appear?  What were they so worried/happy about?  What is the source of that tiny scar?

There's a lot more to Abe Lincoln than is in the body of common knowledge.  If you get the chance, read up on him as we round the bend toward President's Day.