William Burroughs Christmas thoughts

I post this because of its Art Historical and literary value. The Beatnicks, such as Wlliam Burroughs, revolutionized modern art in such a dramatic way that I feel its important that today's young artists learn about these authors.
This particular writing was completed about 1959 and the claymation feature in 1993. The old man in the movie is William Burroughs himself. This work is both controversial and timeless. It was banned by the State of MA, and it took a Supreme Court ruling in 1966 to decide that it was not obscene.

I AM staring at you, but remember, you asked me to create a portrait

These are today's preliminary sketches.

I never thought it would be so awkward to observe my students. It is hard to look at them these days without blushing as I am getting caught in the act of creating observational drawings. Today I finally resorted to asking for a photo, just so I could complete my work without the self consciousness of staring. The problem with this is that I am not comfortable rendering from a photo, I cannot get the sense of depth that I can capture with observation.