Gypsy

Karisma crayon and ink. 2012. Commission. This is a portrait of a very beautiful cat called Gypsy. I hadn’t seen it for a while until I uploaded it here but the owner talks about the picture whenever we chat on the phone, and on opening my scan of it I find it more striking than I remember. One of those drawings you do in one or two intense sessions, which feels quick but often you capture a very fresh energy. It was drawn from real-life acquaintance and some low-res phone photos – I think sometimes not aiming for photo-realism in a portrait encourages you to put more of yourself into something and create the ‘reality’ through engagement and feeling.