glitter and sparkle

was meant to get a whole set to do portraits at this fabulous ball - leather sofa lamp, the works...but it never arrived...alas
it was a great job this. the thing about sketchin is it is quite paparazi in that you steal images from people without askin. there are all kinds of methods to use to decrease your chances of bein clocked but always there is a sense of voyeurism and slight perversion which makes me feel a little awkward,
for this however it was so different because people approached me to get the picture done. in a way it reversed things and i guess was quite like speed datin. i got such a buzz from this it was great just meetin complete strangers and chattin on like mad with no fear of...am i doin their head in should i leave...that kinda thoughts.
i don't pose people for a portrait i let them just sit and do whatever they feel like. the key for me is everyone is relaxed. over 15 minutes people tend to let their natural bodylanguage show so even if they think they are all posed i see somethin else entirely.
i only have one image from this night (as everyone bought them) and that is the one posted here of a performer.

she was my first portrait and i asked her to pose so i could warm up. the image is very sad and i think that shocked her as she was all dressed up as a showgirl and lookin very beautiful and glamourous. she didn't like it and left...but over half an hour she returned about 3 times drawn to the image. eventually she told me she was actually sad as she was just back from new york which is better than belfast in many ways. i wanted to give her the picture but she vanished at the end of the night. several people have offered to buy it off me but i want her to have it.

2 other interestin portraits were done that night. one couple just snogged  the whole way through and it was amazin just sittin a couple of feet away and watchin this...a real intimate moment and as the picture took 15 minutes maybe 20 i saw all kinds of odd body language goin on.

the third interestin one was another couple. when the woman came back for the image and looked at it she commented on how it looked like her boyfriend was talkin down to her in it and she looked...suppressed.

a little later she came back to me and said that's how the dynamic of their relationship truly was and mad how i captured that.
as i said the true body language shines through....it was truly a fascinatin project