Vito Corleone
Study for “Last Mafia Sit Down”
Ballpoint pen on paper

This portrait started as a piece of a bigger idea. I was sketching out what I called the “Last Mafia Sit Down” painting—something larger, more ambitious—and Vito was the first face I committed to. I still want to finish that project. I just haven’t made the time for it yet.

The Godfather (Part I & II) were basically required viewing in my house around Thanksgiving. No football. Just classic cinema. That tradition stuck with me—something about those movies feels like a ritual. The pacing, the shadows, the quiet violence, the way every look means something.

I tried to carry that into this drawing. Keep it heavy. Let the lighting do the storytelling. Build the face out of planes and tension, not pretty lines. The tux and bow tie are almost secondary—what matters is the expression: tired, guarded, in-control, and still somehow human underneath all of it.

I still love these films. And this portrait feels like proof that they left a mark on me—visually, emotionally, and in the way I think about character.

-PERSONAL COLLECTION-