A graphite portrait inspired by a photograph of my young niece at a fleeting stage of childhood. What interested me was not simply her likeness, but the combination of confidence, curiosity and vulnerability that children often carry so naturally. The missing tooth became a small but telling detail, marking a moment of change that would soon pass. Executed in graphite on heavyweight paper, the drawing combines careful observation with selectively unfinished passages, allowing attention to rest on expression and character rather than photographic detail. Original graphite drawing on heavyweight paper. Signed by the artist. Image size: A4 (21 × 29.7 cm). #TheMissingTooth #PortraitDrawing #GraphiteDrawing #PencilArt #FigurativeArt #CharacterStudy #PortraitArt #Realism #FineArtDrawing #Childhood #ChildhoodMoments #GrowingUp

Gerry Rorke

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Presence lies at the centre of my work. I am interested in how people exist in reality: with one another, in solitude, and within the ordinary spaces of everyday life. I am drawn to those moments when a person seems fully present, and to the traces that people leave behind in the objects they use and the rooms they inhabit. A chair, a doorway, a worn surface or an empty room can sometimes hold something of the lives that have passed through them. Working primarily in graphite, I use drawing as a way of paying attention. Rather than pursuing photographic realism for its own sake, I am interested in the energy of lived experience and the sense of presence that can emerge through observation. Children, family members, older people and everyday encounters often become subjects because they reveal something universal through ordinary moments. I graduated with a Fine Art degree in 1991 before pursuing a long career in public service. After returning to art following a thirty-six-year absence, drawing has become a way of reconnecting with the world. Working within the limitations imposed by chronic pain and disability, I draw when health allows, often for short periods from bed. The work is rooted in direct observation, memory and lived experience, and seeks to capture those fleeting moments when a person, place or object feels vividly alive.