Ruth Graham, 92, says she isn’t good with names, but she never forgets a face.
“The eyes are the mirror of the soul and you can see if they've had a hard life or if they're happy,” says Graham.
As a portrait artist, Graham had only ever sketched children. Then, at 90, she began to volunteer at the Daily Bread, an outreach program for the less fortunate in Halifax.
She says that’s when her work took on a different tone.
“I was in here making sandwiches for a couple of months and one chap came in and he had such an interesting face, terrific eyes, and I asked if I could do his portrait and he agreed and that started it and I've been done it ever since,” says Graham.
Two years later, Graham has done about 100 charcoal drawings, and rarely sketches the same person twice.
“Some of the ones on the street, their stories are very interesting,” she says.
Leonard Brooks was lucky enough to be one of Graham’s subjects. He keeps his treasured keepsake displayed on a bedroom bureau.
“When she finished it, she brought it to me and I turned it over and I was overwhelmed by the talent that she has,” says Brooks.
“Probably about a third of them give them to their mothers, they save them for Christmas, her birthday, or a special day because they say they were never able to give her a gift. So that's rather special,” says Graham.
Raymond Pye is an artist himself, but until Tuesday, had never been a muse.
“It felt like you were the centre of attention for a change and it's interesting to see how other people see you,” says Pye.
There is no money in what Graham does, but the senior says it is enriching.
“I find this very meaningful, I have fun with it, and it's something I look forward to every Tuesday.”
With files from CTV Atlantic's Kelland Sundahl
