new art series

making your own art is about personal expression. i struggle with that. i don't like to dive into my feelings or experiences, i guess i prefer to talk about them.
being surrounded by great working artists in the past months, and knowing that being a working artist will enhance my skills as an art teacher, i decided to explore my interests. i typically draw fun cartoons, or paint scenes that have little meaning when i think about it.
i have always been intrigued by the older man's face. i have done a lot of cartooning and pencil drawings, and i want to do more. i started trying to think of why. i typically answered with "old man have wrinkles that are really interesting to draw". but now i am thinking it's a little more deeper than that. i grew up on the same street with an amazing man: Bob Tracey. he was in his 70's when i was growing up on early street, and we had an amazing bond. we'd sit on a bench in the park and talk. he has met every president since kennedy, and he was named citizen of the nation by a president, he served in 2 wars and earned a purple heart. he inspired me to volunteer, to go for what i want, to have pride. this lead me to believe that maybe those wrinkles i adore so much represent stories of the man's past. for every wrinkle is an amazing story that needs to be told.
so i have decided to do an intense art study on older men. men that tell great stories. i want to paint, collage, draw, photograph these men. the man in the picture above is a man i was taught by today for an art teacher development day. he told great stories inbetween teaching us techniques in drawing, so i decided he would be my first candidate. i am uncomfortable about asking people that i don't know to take their pictures-let alone portraits, but i got the courage today, i told him my purpose and he was honored. i was start soon on his first portrait, and future portraits i hope to also make are bob tracey and my grandfather.