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iPad sketch of my father and mother when they were in their early 20s.

An iPad sketch of silent-era movie star Clara Bow.

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My German ancestors came to the US around 1850. Some of the family stayed in Germany. More than 160 years later we have been able to reconnect with our kinfolk in the “old country.“ Thanks, internet. My fourth cousin, who lives in the same small German village, recently came to Texas to visit us. He brought his granddaughter with him. Here she is:

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The original photo was found in a pile of old family photos. No one can identify our horse soldier from the first World War. He was looking at the camera but I chose instead to give him a downward glance.

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My grandniece. I managed to finish this drawing while riding in an airplane. An unusually calm and smooth flight.

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Rachel Parker Plummer was born 200 years ago in March, 1819. She was married at 14 years old and gave birth to her first child when she was 15. At 16 she moved with the Parker clan to Texas which was still a part of Mexico.

Barely a month after Texas won its independence the Parker family fort was attacked by hundreds of Comanches who had approached under a flag of truce. Rachel, her toddler James, her younger brother John, her cousin Cynthia Ann and her aunt Elizabeth were captured and split up among different tribes. The men were murdered and scalped. Her grandmother was raped. She never saw her son again. Rachel, pregnant with her second child at the time of the raid, was only 17 years old. About five months later Rachel gave birth to her son, Luther. At six weeks old her infant was tortured and murdered.

For 21 months as a slave she was constantly abused until finally ransomed by Mexican traders and taken in by a family in Santa Fe. In February, 1838 she was reunited with her family. Emaciated and covered with scars and sores; her once bright red hair was gray. She was now 18 years old.

In January, 1839 she gave birth to her third child. In March of that year after her father had an altercation with another family they fled in the middle of the night. During that torturous trek, on March 19, 1839, Rachel Parker Plummer died. She was three days short of her 20th birthday. Her baby died three days later.

In 1843, her first child James, now 8 years old, was ransomed and returned to the family. At 27 years old he died of typhoid during the Civil War.

Digital illustration. I have seen only one photo of Rachel. Using that one I tried to modernize it. I also changed her hairstyle and blouse but they are based on 1830s fashion.

Taken from a photograph of a friend of mine.

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French-American dancer and actress Leslie Caron.

I was thinking of a strong line running through the middle with just enough thinner detail to identify the person. I think the center lines could have been thicker; could have been fewer thin lines. 

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People have asked how I draw on an iPad. Here is a brief explanation:

I was watching an old John Wayne movie and the girl-interest was Mary Kornman. I looked her up and discovered she had been one of the Little Rascals of The Our Gang series. I found a photo of her I thought was precious and decided to draw her.