Talking People
While most of the drawings I do in public are of just one person there are plenty of times when I am able to draw more than one. I usually won’t attempt this unless I feel I have ample time to compose a more complex image and I have some assurance they will stay in place long enough. As with any live drawing, sometimes it works out, some times it doesn’t. There are many drawings I have of multiple people but in most they are all just sitting, not necessarily engaging with each other. It often is just 2 separate portraits that happen to be on the same page. But that isn’t the case with people who are talking to one another.
It’s a delicate process to create an image where it appears people are actually talking to one another. Obviously there is the task of drawing the mouth so it looks like it’s saying something but that isn’t always essential. Finding a non-verbal gesture that may indicate something, like a question, an exclamation or an attitude, can sometimes be even better than a mouth being open.
This selection of 10 goes all the way back to 1987. At that time I worked at Eulipia Restaurant in San Jose, California. I would often bring my sketchbook in my backpack because after work we would often decompress by sitting around the bar. Having my sketchbook with me meant I could draw while we relaxed. At that time I was drawing with a simple ball point pen, my only requirement being that it be black ink instead of blue.
The rest of these drawings were done with a Copic ink pen first then painted with Copic ink markers and in some cases Montana Acrylic paint markers.
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The Knitwits at Shades of Brown, Tulsa, OK - 2018
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Women Talking Over at Borders, Tulsa, OK - 2001
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A Woman looking at a Woman Looking at Art at Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, OK - 2012
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Three Women Talking About the Decline of the American Empire, at Eulipia Restaurant, San Jose, CA. 1987
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The Attempted Conversion, Watermark Church, Dallas, TX - 2013
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A Conversation at Starbucks in Tulsa, OK in Winter - 2014
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The Questioning Conversation at Starbucks in Tulsa, OK - 2016
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Listening at Barnes and Noble in Tulsa, OK - 2000
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Megan at Starbucks in Tulsa, OK - 2014
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Two Women Talking at Starbucks in Tulsa, OK - 2019
