Sketches of my High School Classmates
Sketches of my High School Classmates
By Jojo Sabalvaro Tan
I was suddenly driven to do sketches of my high school classmates to commemorate our entry into our seventh decade. Most of us have just turned or are turning 70 . To me, it is a milestone. Having met my classmates when we were around 10 years old and retaining our friendship at the age of 70 is amazing. Our high school was experimental. The best students from across the country were chosen for their combined intellect, talent, and temperament and the best teachers were hired to not only instruct us at a college level but also coach us on how to live together as and in a community. The experiment proved successful; the school’s graduates achieved success and excelled in various fields. Sadly, the program was terminated, as planned, 20 years after its inception and our alma mater is now a stuff of legend and fondly and lovingly lives on in the minds of its alumni.
While the muse was actively nagging me, I made the bold move to ask my classmates to send me recent headshots that will help me sketch them, I say bold, because I was not sure how it would be received, and bold, since I was voluntarily setting myself for failure since I have not done a project of this scale before, There were 113 in our graduating class and truth be told, I don’t really know how to paint likenesses of people I know. Upping the difficulty factor is that since we graduated, I have seen many of my classmates only a few times and some not at all. Add to that, I gave my classmates 2 weeks to submit their headshots and myself less than a 1 month to finish the sketches. It was pressure with a capital ‘P” and I have no one to blame but myself!
The following is an update of the story we published about an artist who sketched in pen and watercolour her high school classmates as her gift on their 55th anniversary and lifelong friendships.
(Editor)
Comments (0)