The "penetrating gaze" of the artist

Readers may be familiar with Smiley Face (pictured above), created in 1963 by Harvey Ball. Before Smiley, humans had no way to graphically represent the happy feelings they experienced inside.

Friend of OPE (and caretaker of Kurt's bike) Doug has long enjoyed drawing Smiley Face. After many years of meditation on Smiley, and utilizing the artist's "penetrating gaze," Doug was able to decipher some of Smiley's mysteries. Though Smiley has only ever let himself be seen in full frontal view, Doug was able, after much reflection, to draw this profile of S.