[Valerie Gudorf]

Formidable indeed! Sergio, this portrait is an amazing feat. It's hard to imagine how you made graphite, a medium traditionally assigned to work within an exponentially smaller format, make such a big statement. Actually, the very fact that graphite was the medium of choice contributes to the wow-factor of this piece.

The visage of your fireman is almost surreal. When I first looked at the piece, I thought, "this couldn't possibly be a real man"---so "otherworldly" is his face. So imagine my surprise when I read that he is actually colleague of yours! It does indeed appear that his is "a face made from rock", so I had a hard time seeing any of the other emotions or states of mind that you ascribe to him. But I don't think it's necessarily important to see any more than the very powerful image that he presents.

I do have one question, though: Is his right nasal wing really bigger than the one on his left?