When you interview as many people as I have you often get asked: were they (the eyewitness) telling the truth? For the first few years I relied on my gut feeling to answer that question; eventually I decided to take a more scientific approach to see if I could remove my visceral opinion. I’ve been an armchair psychologist since completing my BA in Behavioral Sciences and Criminology in 2001, so I approached this issue as a study project.

Not only did I have the most amazing experience at the Golden Door spa, but I also learned something about my Perspective Sketches. I realized after my second presentation that I had left out an important aspect of the sketch interviews. I interviewed the guests at the Golden Door just like I had in the Real Beauty Sketches (RBS) video. I interviewed a total of 12 guests during Women’s Week. Ten of them were self-describers and four of them described other guests.  This was the first time I had conducted my Perspective Sketches in a spa setting.

As the forensic artist for the Real Beauty Sketches campaign of 2013 I continue to receive many interesting opportunities. A few months ago I received an email from the Golden Door spa. They asked if I would come to their location and conduct some sketches and speak to their guests. When I learned more about the Golden Door experience I was left with no choice but to accept their invitation.

When you are at the center of self criticism it’s pretty hard to ignore the facts. As the sketch artist for the Real Beauty Sketches (RBS) campaign I was charged with sketching the details about how these real women saw themselves and how others saw them. As I heard the descriptions of the real women (I could not see them) I could sense the history behind some of the hurtful comments. Some of the real women told me their families and friends had scared them with their ignorant comments , while the others focused on boyfriends that highlighted their imperfections.