Theodore
Theodore
Meet Theodore!
Theodore, or Ted, is a manager of my favorite Greek grocery store The MarketPlace. The story goes like this. I am worried that I will not be able to come up with 40 faces for my Sketchbook Project. My concern is that I may not know that many people. So I started stopping people in the streets and public places and asking them to pose for my portraits. Generally making a nuisance of myself in the name of Art. So far my rate was about 50%, about half of the people agree to pose for me, bless them. Theodore was the first stranger I approached.
I was standing in line for the register at the MarketPlace when Ted arrived to help bagging groceries. I saw him and had to have his face for my series. He seemed to think it was a strange request, but one has to keep customers happy, and so he obliged. After a couple of shots in the middle dairy aisle he was getting bored, but I didn’t have a shot I wanted yet. To keep him entertained I started telling him what fine man he was and how much he looked like Humphrey Bogart. It was then I got this “Come hither!” look :).
#22 of 40. Graphite, Moleskine Cahier sketchbook.
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Please tell Theodore, when you see him next, that the fact he did this for you would gain a new customer if I only lived in the area. You caught the right expression. He looks like a shop keeper, here, smiling at some tale a regular is sharing with him. Good drawing, Alex. What about a bus driver, taxi driver, policeman, etc? The lady or man who sells the tickets to the ell?
I will try to tell him, Leslie 🙂 . He may try to avoid me next time though – that crazy lady with camera and strange ideas 😆 . I am thinking along the same lines as hunting for faces goes. I already have people from various businesses in the neighborhood, shoppers from a large grocery store caught on candid camera without knowing, more artists from various studios I work in. The best part is my actual neighbors, I live in a 20 storied high-rise. I have shots from mail room, laundry room, garage and so on. I am picky though, don’t want just mug shot portraits. I am hunting interesting expressions.
THAT FACE HAS CHARACTER! Ask him if he can send over some baklava! 🙂
hit the button too fast again.
I really like the left shoulder. You didn’t quite finish it as much as the rest of Ted and it almost gives it a feeling of him emerging from the other page onto the right side of the book.
I don’t think I’m making myself clear, but I really like that shoulder.
I think I got what you meant. Thank you so much! I got tired of building tone on his shirt. I figured the shirt is not important anyway, who needs details. I am glad it created a nice effect that you liked. Love when that happens. I am not sure about baklava :lol:, as I said to Leslie, Ted may avoid me next time worrying that I would ask to take more pictures. Perhaps I should bring the sketchbook with me and show him. Now here’s an idea 😀 !
yes, do that. I bet he would be both impressed with your talent and flattered at how wonderful the portrait came out.