Free Portraits

Yesterday, we decided to go on a run.

It was a bit difficult however, considering that some blowhard stole my old man's new Nike shoes. So, we decided instead to take a long, brisk walk, and pick up some even newer shoes on the way home.

On our walk we encountered a couple of girls offering "FREE PORTRAITS". Sweet! The artist works at a porn shop on the other side and town, and didn't have anything to do to that day, so she and her friend decided to offer free portraits. Both were artists, but the one doing our picture was "actually good" - according to her friend. The only stipulation was that we had to allow them to take our picture, and a picture of the portrait before she handed it over.

We positioned ourselves on the concrete, with the sun glaring in our eyes, and modeled for the artist. During the 1/2 hour session she spent much of the time paying particular attention to detail, shading, turning the paper this way and comparing her drawing with our reality, as any artist should, to ensure the accuracy of the intended subject.

As I was sitting there, I was very concerned she wouldn't get my eyes right because I had to squint due to the sun. As she didn't have us move, I assumed she knew what she was doing. I thought about our friends as we waited, who got a portrait of themselves on their honeymoon in Canada. It is a pretty awesome rendition, and I've always been jealous that we didn't have a similar beauty of our own.

Now we do: