Grandpa.

My grandpa had many interests, he was always busy with some project; caring for his birds in the garden, building something in his workshop, tracking air traffic from the attic bedroom, or lovingly building me a dolls house. My love of romcoms most likely came from his collection of Julia Roberts movies on tape. I can still hear the coins jingle in his pocket as he softly limped down the street for his newspaper and my sweets. I remember so much about him.

So, it strikes me as odd that I didn’t know about these drawings. A few years ago I was told that my grandpa used to draw and paint from Vogue covers and create various other portraits. I’ve only recently been shown them - they’re so elegant and I can only imagine the time they took him.

Our styles are different, but what amazes me is that, having never known this about him I do the same thing. Although I don’t share much of it online, I have always been interested in fashion portraiture.

I can’t speak to him about it now, but I guess we speak through my making.