I love this big head. Slightly awkward, there's a fragility that's very appealing and a certain haunting quality almost like a death mask.

Hmm... a death mask. That is a good one. I hadn't thought of it this way before, but it seems to describe well what I often try to do. I take an expression and fix it there still, so that you can look at it for ever, till you finally get what was behind its gaze. Are you familiar with Fayoum portraits?

Maria, your stare captivates me