Why I Think I Can/Should Do Forensic Art

I was thinking about the reasons I want to learn forensic art.

I foremost have a need to help people. If my talent could be used to make everyone safer and help a victim and victim's family be able to sleep at night, knowing the criminal is behind bars, then that would be a big thrill for me. I've done personality assessments over the years, and they repeatedly say I am a helper type of personality. I also have a firm (some could say white-knucked) grasp of what is right and wrong. The jobs in the past that have been the best for me have been the ones in which I felt like I was making a real contribution. I hate busy work. If I can have a job that allows me to really help people and my community, and it's creative, then it's a definite fit for me.

I know I can do composite art, but I need the forensic art training. A lot of the work I have already done has been composites of different photographic elements. One time I used 22 photos to recreate a vintage building and scene. I also worked from the memories of several of the client's family members.

I haven't done any age progression portraits, because most people want to look younger, not older! But I have done age-regression portraits. Children adopted at an older age from outside the United States often don't have any baby or toddler pictures. So I have worked from the youngest photos the people have and created portraits that show what the child might have looked like at a younger age. I make my best guess as to what they may have looked like. I feel very strongly that my guesses are accurate, because I base them on the known information. I work hard to get them as accurate as I possibly can.

I have also done portraits of deceased babies and babies lost as a result of miscarriage. I have drawn babies as young as 16 weeks gestational age. Sometimes the photographs are difficult to view. But I think of the end result - the family will have a beautiful drawing to remember their baby by, not traumatic hospital photos. Again, this is a situation where I feel blessed to be able to help a family.

So it comes back to personality and work experience. I have worked many years in retail management, where I did interviewing, hiring, background checks, and sometimes unfortunately I had to give someone the bad news that I needed to let them go. I've also worked in human resources. I have some medical office background -- I was office manager for an oral surgeon, and I sometimes had to "suit up" and go to the back and help with patients. I have seen a lot of blood, and I don't faint.

I can care for people like a mom, but also be able to self-protect and distance myself when necessary. I'm empathetic but I can sense B.S. when I am on the receiving end of it. I feel really drawn to do some forensic art, excuse the pun!