In response to my research of artists such as Diebenkorn and Francis Bacon, whose portraiture often depicts subjects whose features are often skewed, concealed or altered in some way, and therefore creates a sense of mystery surrounding the narrative of the subject, I decided to do some sketches as a practical response.With aims to retain the intention of distorting and concealing parts of the subject’s personal narrative, I decided to use sketching materials which would reflect these themes when used in portraits: charcoal and oil pastels, both which are easily manipulated to create a sense of mystery and ambiguity across the page. To gather my subject matters for these sketches, I took photographs of people and scenes in which the subject was partially or completely facing away from the camera, similar to the stances of the portraits of Diebenkorn.