I don’t even know how to begin to document my relationship to “Perry Mason” (the television series starring Raymond Burr. (I also enjoy the new version with Matthew Rhys but I’ve been saving the final episodes of that since it hasn’t been renewed for a third season, but that will definitely have to be a different post).
A number of years ago I was quite ill with a respiratory infection. I just went into the archives—it was 2013. I published dozens of posts on “Perry Mason” and sketches made of the actors.
Perhaps the post which most captures my relationship with Perry and in fact all of the television law/detection shows I watch is about Paul Drake. You can read it here.
I’ve been watching Perry since I was a child. One of the perks is seeing all the young TV actors who were already famous for other jobs by the time I saw Perry in reruns.
Cleaning up my digital file I found this page spread from 2019. I’d started working my way through Perry again while adjusting to my post-cataract operation vision.
The black and white shows lend themselves to brush pen (like these pages) and monochromatic ink wash sketches. The hairstyles, the perfectly made up faces, and the fantastic lighting scream out to be sketched.
It’s more fun and better for your hand-eye-brain connection if you sketch from life, but if you find yourself unable to get out and sketch there is always Perry! (I think you can still see reruns on MeTV, but I watch it on Paramount Plus.)
