Confederate Soldier John Brown Gordon

This is my second ball point pen Civil War soldier portrait. I just completed it a few moments ago. The experience of drawing these men has been really deep for me. Staring at the faces and digging into the emotion that is there in the photo's I am so aware that these are young men- with old faces. Their hair is thick and dark and the beards are dark as well. In the case of John Gordon, what struck me the most was the sadness in his eyes and his hollow cheeks. His eyes look like someone who has seen things that have torn his soul, and no doubt he did. He is so thin his cheeks are sunken like a very old man's. He is proud and not beaten with his straight back posture and slicked back hair. It is humbling to draw these soldiers.