For Karen Van Seters, her love of drawing began at young age. Over time, her love of sketching evolved into a passion for composite drawings.
“As an adult my friends in law enforcement urged me to try composite art, but I was always afraid to draw the human face,” explains Van Seters.
She says forensic art is not about creating something perfect or beautiful. Rather, it’s about developing evidence that was previously intangible. Her most recent drawing was of a suspect in an alleged indecent act, where police say a man exposed himself to a teenaged girl.
“It was interesting because the witness was 12 years old and I have never interviewed a child before. Her parents were in the room as well, she liked art too,” adds Van Seters. “You build a rapport and she was easy to talk to.”
Van Seters says the main purpose of forensic art is to generate leads for investigators, even if not every part of the drawing is 100 percent accurate. Composite art is designed to be a representation of the witnesses memory – not a portrait of a person.
“We compare it to political cartoons. You pick someone with a recognizable face.”
Van Seters says although she is the artist, it’s the victims who deserve the credit for any help her drawings have been in solving cases.
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