Marker Art

Bringing Faces to Life in Sharpie

When people send me their photos, they’re not just sharing an image—they’re inviting me into a moment of their lives, a glimpse of their essence that I have the privilege of interpreting through my art. Each face tells a story, and my challenge as an artist is to translate that story into the crisp, bold strokes of a Sharpie.

The process is never the same twice. Sometimes, the inspiration strikes immediately, and within half an hour, the face emerges effortlessly onto the page. Other times, I wrestle with the details for days, reworking the lines, scrapping entire attempts, and starting over until the expression, the mood, and the soul of the person finally come through. I find myself lost in the flow, navigating the delicate balance between fine lines and deep shading, letting intuition guide my hand.

What makes this experience even more special is the connection I feel with everyone who responds to my call for photos. There’s something deeply moving about the trust they place in me—to see them, to interpret them, and to bring them to life in ink. This project started as a simple offering, a fun pastime I shared during Christmas of 2021. But life has a way of filling up quickly, and now, finding time for these fun portraits has become a rare but cherished act of creative expression.

Each piece is a labor of love, a fusion of skill, intuition, and emotion. Whether completed in a single sitting or after countless do-overs, every portrait carries a piece of me—a moment of connection, a burst of inspiration, a tribute to the beauty in every face I draw.