The yellow in these guys’ clothes represents their construction safety vests. There’s a lot of construction going on in the East and Southeast parts of Oakland. I’m not quite sure what they’re doing to Highway 880, but the overpass at High Street near Home Depot hasn’t looked right for months. Then there’s the construction on the Oakland Airport BART extension. That’s the construction project depicted in the photo I’ve incorporated into drawing. These guys were working on the extension at the point where it will run along Hegenberger, I liked the way their hairstyles and beards seemed to be complimentary–short hair vs. long hair, headband vs. no headband, full beard with no mustache vs. goatee with a mustache. It might seem like a silly reason to remember someone, but I love patterns and pairings, even in human beings. Of course, these guys were like a magnet for my nerdy pattern-loving gaze.
Ajuan Mance
Just wanted to say that I love this whole project. I find myself thinking about it a lot, wondering how you’d draw this man crossing the street with his little boy, or that man picking up his kids after school, or my boss, or…
Sarah,
Thanks for your post. I’m so glad you’re enjoying this project. I hope to reach 500 drawings by the end of the year, with a couple of surprise drawings on the way. I hope you enjoy what’s to come!
Hi! Thanks for stopping by. I’m so glad you like my site. The project has had a similar effect on me. I find myself looking at Black men around the East Bay and wondering what kind of line I would use to capture that facial feature or that hairstyle or gesture.