Roxy.

When I started this portrait, Roxy was my girlfriend.

At the time it was the largest drawing I had ever attempted, requiring many weeks and countless hours of work. Looking back, I'm not entirely sure whether I chose such a challenging project because I wanted to improve as an artist or because it gave me an excuse to spend hours looking at her face.

Somewhere along the way, I became so familiar with every freckle and detail that I suspect I could have drawn them from memory.

The piece was never intended to be anything more than a gift. An act of patience, admiration, and love for someone who would later become my wife.