On Christmas Day, while the rest of the family was variously watching TV, playing video games, or in the kitchen preparing food, I went into Mom’s studio and started a new drawing, another one of Torano. For this one I chose an image I’d been meaning to get to for some time, one of Torano lying on his back, propped up on his elbows, as seen from above. He’s looking up into the camera and he looks absolutely adorable. I find myself hoping I can capture the look on his face.

I dive in, and the drawing goes well, so well I forget to take an in-progress shot halfway through, so you don’t get to see one in this case. The lighting was a bit tricky because it’s so subtle in the photograph, but with a little extra attention on that, I worked it out. As I was drawing I saved the face for last, both because I was a bit nervous about capturing the expression, and because when it works, the face is the most fun part of the drawing.
And it worked! I not only captured the expression, I think I got something else there, something that’s not really visible in the photograph, some subtlety that really captures Torano. Not sure how this happens when it does, but I’m grateful it does. This nude winds up being a better portrait than a lot of my intentional portrait drawings. Plus I think he’s even more adorable in the drawing than in the photograph. Success!
I decided to call this one "A Little Bite" because under the sweetness in Torano’s expression there’s a hint of mischief—and the promise of something with a bit more of a bite to it.

