Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84Plough Quarterly • Spring 2016  21 Port fol io N E IL SHIG L E Y InvisiblePeople Why I Make Portraits of San Diego’s Homeless O n a cold night in San Diego’s Little Italy, I was walking to a gallery opening when I passed a homeless man in a doorway. His eyes caught mine before I could glance away. Inside, as I walked around looking at paintings, the man’s face stayed with me. I knew then that I had to do his portrait, and that’s how the series “Invisible People” started. While we’re often attracted to images of the rich and famous, too many of us tend to look away from people on the other end of the economic spectrum, the homeless. It’s almost second nature for many of us to simply avoid or ignore a homeless person. Often, we act as if the person isn’t there. For this reason, these images are presented larger than life. By encountering a face this size, I want each viewer to be confronted by a visible, visceral human being. What is the difference between the people portrayed here and the rest of us? Not as much as we think. We wake up each day and go to sleep at night. We have hopes and dreams and plans. We want to be respected. We want to be loved. As I’ve gotten to know San Diego’s homeless men, women, and children, I’ve come to recognize and admire the incredible char- acter that each of these people possesses, hard earned through years of struggle and survival on the streets. Their nobility, beauty, strength, and vulnerability are plain to see, if only we look rather than turn away. There are over six thousand homeless people in the San Diego region, and eighteen hundred of them are children. The issue of chronic homelessness is complex, here and elsewhere. I don’t pretend to have any answers, but if this work can raise awareness, perhaps we can begin to generate some solutions. If these portraits help to keep even one child from ending up on the streets, then the effort that has gone into making them will be worth it. Neil Shigley teaches art and illustration at San Diego State University. This article is based on an interview by Maureen Swinger on January 7, 2016. Learn more about the “Invisible People” project at www.neilshigley.com. Images courtesy of Neil Shigley