The portrait of Ben 1990

Alfred Freddy Krupa drew “The portrait of Ben” with pencil. Look at how he layers the graphite, one stroke building on another, to create the form of Ben's head. It’s like he’s feeling his way around the dog's shape, not just copying it, but really getting to know it. The texture of the pencil on paper gives the drawing a soft, almost dreamy quality. It's not about sharp lines and perfect details; it's more about capturing a feeling, an essence. Notice the little dog jumping over the square hurdle, it’s a playful touch, a little secret hidden in the composition. It makes you wonder about the relationship between the artist and this dog named Ben. It reminds me of drawings by Giacometti, that same sense of searching, of never quite arriving at a fixed image. Art is always a conversation, right? It's never really finished, just a moment captured in time.