These portraits were created by Colin Ferguson’s pastel students for the Memory Project, an initiative that gives children who’ve been orphaned a personal keepsake.
The students begin with a photographic reference to create a portrait of a child using pastels. Once the portrait is finished, it and information about the Tyler student who painted it are given to that child. As a way of thanks, many children send letters and their own drawings in return to the student artists.
Over the course of Tyler’s participation in the Memory Project, students have painted portraits of children from Africa, Asia, North America and South America. The College’s participation is supported by the John Tyler Community College Foundation. For more information about the project, visit www.memoryproject.org.