For almost 5 years now I have had the pleasure to be an art instructor with 'Art With Elders', a non-profit organization developed by Brent Nettle that aims at improving the state of elders in residential care facilities through the practice of making art where individuals like myself, organize a class of participating elders at specific locations throughout the bay area (san francisco, oakland, etc) teaching painting and drawing. This is one of my students, Ada, who i have painted over and over. These are sketches that  are always rushed in between sessions of teaching and demonstrating skills/ideas with the students. They always have a rough, unfinished quality but more and more i appreciate this aesthetic and it does influence my actual work. It's always a fun surprise for the elder to see the end result of the painting, for they are usually unaware that they have been studied upon during the class. Sometimes they are flattered, sometimes they are critical. Either way, the expression is one of honesty, a quality that i admire and consistently experience with all elders in my experience. Enjoymother's day Ada, acrylic on paper, 8.5"x 11", 2012