The big chill

Well, this could be it; last court drawing in Guantanamo.. though there's word that they may start up again significantly reworked in 120 days after the freeze on commissions ordered by President Obama via his spokesperson. I was able to stay a bit longer to get this sketch; court had cleared of most personnel in a half hour, but the detainees remained for another hour, which allowed me to detail it out a bit more.

Full court press

We had court for 2 hours this morning, ending early due to the Inauguration. With the possibility of this being the last time in court here in Guantanamo, I was determined to capture the full scene as accurately as possible. All that figure drawing at Art Center years ago seems to have paid off.. and the continued figure drawing weekly at Hopper House does too.
To recap, this is the pretrial hearing of Omar Khadr, with Agent Fuller testifying about his interrogation findings regarding Omar's ties to Al Qaeda.

A few more sketches

After the break, I decided to return to Court 1, where the Khadr tribunal was bringing in a witness, in this case a female interrogator, to testify. I managed to get that scene, having to erase her defining features per instruction, and also was able to get the group, in just the hour. Planned to return to Court 2 and draw the 9/11 tribunal but it was called to recess and will not be back on until Wednesday. Caught flat-footed, I ended up drawing the remaining Khadr proceedings off the monitor in the press room. They were showing some very damning footage of young Khadr making bombs, so I drew his reaction while it was showing. Tomorrow we convene back in court, and we are all waiting to see what the possible impact may be when Obama becomes President..

In the courts

Two down... the afternoon to go, splitting time between two courts as the cases go on simultaneously. Definitely a first!
Going back in a few minutes as a witness is to show as Omar Khadr's trial gets shaped up to move forward; when, we shall
see.

Taking wing

I sketched this view of Andrews A.F.B. through my window on the plane as we prepared to fly to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The plane held media, military personnel involved in the commissions, and also some of the family members of victims who died during 9/11. We flew on a charter with Miami Air, a rare and welcome way to fly down. Often we have flown on a Hercules C-130, a real workhorse of a prop plane that takes twice as long. I'll post tomorrow- going to both courts. Busy day.

Hopper House session Jan. 15 2009

I'm in Guantanamo right now, getting ready to go into court tomorrow; in this case there are two commissions going on simultaneously, so it will be a challenge to dash into one, capture as much as possible, then dash to the other. A rush in both senses of the word. These figure drawing sessions really help me to keep my skills sharp and 'stretched'. I'll be posting sketches from here in Gitmo in the next few days.

Hopper House - 2009 figure drawing

Like any activity, when you take a break, you need to stretch the muscles and build back up. So it was for me at the drawing session last night; a bit disjointed, unfocused and just finding that line. With sessions back on, things will sharpen up.
It can be humbling but also good- keep pushing and striving to better oneself. I'm so glad to facilitate the venue; it's a gift for me, having met many artists and been inpspired by the work that comes out of our sessions. See for yourself here.