"As an artist, I want to see character, and you can see the content of people's character when they're sharing their stories," said the former journalist, who's doing the oil portraits as a senior thesis project for Philadelphia's Studio Incamminati art school. "You can't be thin-skinned," said Dennin, a Merchantville resident. "These seniors are no-nonsense. One lady — I thought hers was one of my best portraits — told me: 'Oh, that's terrible. It's horrible. http://www2.philly.com/philly/columnists/kevin_riordan/painter-linda-dennin-portraits-south-jersey-20180518.html