Portrait: Lis Sladen (2010)

Elisabeth Sladen was best known for the role of Sarah Jane Smith in Doctor Who. I am immensely fond of her. She was wonderful back in the 70s when she first joined the show, and she was even more wonderful when she came back in 2006. When she got her own spinoff, The Sarah Jane Adventures, I was just so delighted that there was now this show, a kids' show, where the hero was an older, single woman who was competent and interesting and sympathetic and a bit adorkable, and who had the most awesome house. (Seriously. I want that attic.) If you're a Whovian and you haven't watched SJA, give it a shot. It's lighter and fluffier than DW, but just as entertaining.

It was a punch in the gut for Whovians everywhere when she died in 2011 (cancer).

The original photo was a promotional shot for The Sarah Jane Adventures. I really enjoyed the backlighting, and this might be the first time I did a lot of leather. It was a delight doing all that hair. But mostly I wanted to draw someone older: Ms. Sladen was in her sixties. Skin is a rather different thing after you hit middle age. There are new textures.

FYI: If you are at all self-conscious of or embarrassed by wrinkles, gray hair, or other signs of aging, I'm probably not the person you'd want to do your portrait. 'Cause I kind of love the whole aging thing. Wrinkles make lovely patterns and folds, and they give faces such character. There's so much going on with older faces. I'm fascinated with how faces change over time, how features grow sharper or fade, how you can kinda see the old man in a young man's face, and vice-versa. I've got an old photo of Ms. Sladen that I want to do, and I'm curious to see where the differences are.

Created in ArtRage, using markers.