Abuelo Fumando
Miguel Gonzalez Sanchez | charcoal on 18x24” drawing paper
This is my second complete charcoal drawing. There were things I think I should have refined, but it had been a while since I had made progress on the drawing.
Also, my two-year-old nephew got some of my mom’s make-up brushes and made some touch-ups to the drawing. Thankfully, it wasn’t noticeable on the drawing, but my mom’s make-up brushes were covered in charcoal lol.
After that, I refined some details and dropped the drawing off to get framed. I opted to not use a fixative.
I started the portrait as practice to prepare for a self-portrait required for a drawing course I had in the summer of 2025 at SMC. It’s based on a photo my dad took of his dad smoking.
Since my abuelo passed away when I was four years old, I don’t have many memories with him. His face is familiar to me from growing up with pictures of him throughout my parents’ home, but it was a surreal experience seeing his portrait take form.
Since he was a smoker, I think charcoal is a fitting medium.
I can’t imagine how pervasive smoking and its marketing must have been when he was growing up. I wish I had the opportunity to really get to know him, but I’m grateful to have met him and to hear stories about him from family.