In early February 2025, I launched a week-long public art initiative in Kelowna that brought together portraiture, storytelling, and community connection. With a sign that read “Free Caricatures,” I invited passersby to sit with me for a few minutes while I sketched their likeness. Each portrait took about five minutes, during which time I had the chance to talk with the person in front of me and learn a little about their life.  

 

Over the course of seven days, I drew roughly 250 people of all ages and backgrounds. These encounters were often brief, but they created moments of genuine exchange and reflection. Every sketch became more than just a drawing. It was a shared experience, an opening for conversation, and a small record of life in the city during that week.

 

Throughout the project, I took photographs with some of the people I met. Using those photos as references, I later compiled 77 portraits into a single illustrated mural. The finished piece weaves together the many faces and personalities of Kelowna, showing people as they are and as they described themselves in our conversations. Each figure represents a real encounter, giving the work both artistic and documentary value.

 

Although smaller in scale than later projects, the Kelowna Portrait Project was a meaningful first step. It demonstrated how a simple act of drawing could build community and open the door to deeper conversations. More than just a collection of sketches, it became a celebration of the diversity and creativity of the city’s people, and it laid the groundwork for the larger Vancouver initiative that followed.

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Tools Used: Procreate