This is an older portrait, around 2008 or 2009, of my step father. I’ve been slowly rephotographing some of my early work since I lost most of the original documentation, and this was the first one I revisited.

Looking at it now, there are things I would absolutely change. I’d add more skin detail, more texture, and definitely wouldn’t crop it the way I did. Sorry, Miti, for cutting off half your forehead. But that’s the strange charm of older work: you see where you were and how much your approach has shifted.

Even though I haven’t done a huge number of portraits over the years, each one has taught me something that carried into the next.

Private Collection
Year: 2009
Size: 16″ x 20″
Graphite drawing on Paper