a few recent portraits

While I've been back in Istanbul, I've been busy with a few portraits— two for the Moly-X Portrait Exchange, and one drawing of Melissa drinking a tea. I snapped the photo of Melissa when we stopped at a little tea house on the way down from our Shivapuri hike, taking shelter from the pounding rain. I really liked the photo, and planned on using it as a reference for a future drawing that I'd send to her as a gift— which is precisely what I did.

The portraits in the first Moleskine below are of artist Emma Kidd, accompanied by yours truly, getting away with stealing your Love letters. I've been holding onto Emma's book for a while now, wallowing in a creative block. I'm such a huge fan of Emma's, and while we're in several exchanges together, I got nervous every time I put my pen to the paper. I really wanted something bright and exciting, with an element of fantasy, reflecting her artwork. I must say I'm quite proud of the result. The book is now on its way to America, to be drawn in by another artist in the exchange.



In the second set of portraits above, I'm standing beside the multi-talented artist Jan Allsopp, staring in awe or expectation, at the mischievous crows who are stealing our necklaces. I'm not sure why I've been into the concept of thievery lately— I suppose the idea of taking something that doesn't belong to you fascinates me. It's not something I really understand.