West Chester artist Susan Curtin realized how much she missed seeing the faces of her neighbors during her regular walks after the pandemic started and people started wearing masks, writes Bill Rettew for the Daily Local News. 

Her yearning led her to create a 145-piece collection of pencil drawings that is currently being exhibited at Church Street Gallery in West Chester. 

To create the collection, she would ask her neighbors to pull their masks down just for a few moments so she could take their picture. Then, she drew 9 × 12-inch portraits at home, each one taking around three days to complete. 

She drew portraits of both children and adults and dubbed her creations “Faces in the Neighborhood,” which she later renamed “Faces of West Chester.” 

The project also helped the 70-year-old artist get to know her neighbors. 

“I didn’t really know these people before the pandemic,” she said. “Once I started drawing, I developed a deeper relationship and they became human beings to me.” 

The exhibit will run through July 9. 

Read more about the exhibition in the Daily Local News.