Thursday, January 1, 2009

Composite Drawings


As mentioned before I wanted to post a composite made from 5 photo references. So there was separate photos for the hair, eyes, nose, mouth and head/jaw area. It is all in pencil but a pretty picture does not catch a crook. This was done in a class room setting with no crying victim or intimidated witness to contend with.









click on either image for a larger view





Now this composite was described to me by a 71 year old neighbor lady. She was watering her lawn when she saw this person with hair rollers and a fuzzy pink sweater go to her neighbor's front door. After knocking and not getting an answer this person went to the side gate and disappeared. The lady assumed this person was a new cleaning lady and didn't think anything more of it until later that night. A police officer informed her that he was making a check for possible witnesses because that neighbor was burglarized earlier in that day. Could the person she saw be involved? Fortunately, the officer took the chance to have a composite done on this person.

This lady was the oldest witness I had dealt with but she was sharp as a tack. She even described how the rollers were on this suspect's head. So officers and detective's "assumed" they were looking for a slightly built African American woman in her late twenties.

A couple of weeks later, another police officer was conducting a check on a Parolee for a Parole Officer. The Parolee was a male who had been incarcerated for burglary. The officer looked at the Parolee and discovered he was a transvestite and looked very similar to the composite. [down to the curls in his hair] and fingerprints later confirmed this was the "cleaning lady" burglar and was able to clear several burglaries in the neighborhood.

8 comments:

Margaret Mayer said...

Very nice, Sheila. You have a very interesting background in forensic. I bet you have lots of stories to tell about your experiences. Thanks for your comment on my blog and I hope to see more of your work.

John Vander Stelt said...

Very interesting Sheila. I remember as a kid, I always thought that being a "police sketch artist" (as I called it), would be a cool job. Best wishes with your blog. I started mine a few months ago and it has been fun as well as a good discipline. Enjoy your new art "looking for the light" in people.

Cheryl McCarley said...

Hi Sheila,
I just visited your blog for the first time after your lovely comment on mine! I agree with the other postings of how interesting it must have been to be a Forensic Artist, way cool. You are a talented artist and I wish you much happiness in your new art experiences and your blog!
PS I used to live in Danville 5 years ago

Michelle said...

Shelia, Happy New Year! Thank you for visiting my blog and offering such kind words.

Your work as a forensic artist is absolutely fascinating. Thank you for sharing it.

Your lilies in the previous post are beautiful and belong on such a wall for everyone to look at! And thanks for the mention. :)

I look forward to following your beautiful journey!

Annie Salness said...

Hi Sheila!
Thank you for visiting my blog and for the nice comment! What an interesting background you have! I'm happy that you are able to return to fine art and hope that you enjoy your journey!

artbyakiko said...

Sheila, your work is amazing! What a great service your art does to the society. I'm really impressed!
I'm looking forward to seeing more of your beautiful works.

suzanne cabrera said...

Incredible

Diane Hoeptner said...

Fascinating stuff, Sheila!