In these days of online overkill, it’s rare for someone not to be plugged into a computer, particularly someone who works for magazines and newspapers. This month we welcome a newcomer to the world of high technology: Dallas illustrator Dorit Rabinovitch. A veteran artist who usually does her color work in oils, the 53-year-old says she was “totally computer illiterate” when she bought her first PC last August. Four months later, she was using paint software to create the five color portraits for this month’s article on Texas billionaires (see “Who Wants to Be a Billionaire?”). The transition from old to new media has been smooth, she says, noting that working with the computer is cheaper and neater, and there are no fumes — and the quality of her caricatures hasn’t suffered. How is it, exactly, that she so precisely captures the essence of her subjects? “It just comes naturally,” says the native Canadian, who draws her inspiration from studying the face, which she calls “the most important thing,” and finds working with flesh tones and features “very seductive.” Eileen Schwartz
