In this series, I have returned to drawing as my main medium and to portraiture as the prime subject matter. These drawings are created with additive and reductive processes in charcoal. They utilize historical conventions of portraiture both in traditional painting and early photography, sometimes featuring gold leaf and oval or arched picture planes. Some drawings are simply odes to historical images that I find moving, such as a life-size depiction of the archeological photograph of the ‘Hasanlu Lovers.’ Other images come from quick snapshots and are translated into the more emotionally charged and tonally rich language of mark making. Many of these drawings also feature our slightly-wilder-than-us beast friend, the dog.