So I went the the ceremonial opening of the new Veterans and Military Affairs Center at The University of Alabama today, expecting a nice ceremony and an opportunity to celebrate support for veterans getting help at the school. In addition to that, Phil Taylor came out, having done a portrait of Sr Airman Mark Foster for the Foster family, and presented it to the family. That was a special surprise for the ceremony attendees and a chance to be part of what has become a nationally recognized project.
He says he struggles to make sure he captures the essence of the person in each portrait. Writers should have the same sense of struggle in trying to capture the essence of their subjects in words.