Capturing essence

After some deliberation and a lot of different inspirations, I knew what I wanted to do for my next charcoal piece.  I wanted to capture the essence of an emotion, while leaving a subtle meaning.  So I decided to take another shot at doing a self portrait...I think the great thing about these are they don't nessasarily have to be photographic you...they are portraying a side of you.  As I drew, a mantra was repeating in my head "Silence became my teacher."  I think this repetition of thought effected the outcome.  So I decided maybe that should be the title.  This became a rather personal work.

                                         "Silence Became My Teacher"