SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Damaris Torres, a lifelong Springfield resident, says she has always loved drawing. 

"I've been drawing since I was a little kid,” Torres said. 

Torres has been taking over her mother’s dining room table for at least 25 years. 

"I'm sure my family gets really sick of it, but they already know, like ‘Oh, she is drawing again,’” Torres said with a laugh. 

She turns on some music and gets lost in the canvas. 

"It can be the middle of August, 90 degrees outside, and I will be blasting Christmas music,” Torres said. “It helps drown out the rest of the world."

When Torres comes home from work, she finds comfort in picking up a pencil and a paintbrush, as she carefully draws and shades each portrait.

"I guess you can say it's like a coping mechanism, because my brain gets really loud sometimes,” she said. 

Torres uses her talents to help others cope, too. She said, "I cant imagine being a mother and having my child go missing. I would lose it."

After following the story of Aiden Blanchard from Chicopee, Torres felt compelled to give his family something they could remember him by. She drew a portrait of him to gift to the family, who she has never met. 

"It's a small tribute, but if it's going to make her smile or give her even the briefest moment of comfort, then it's worth it,” said Torres. 

Aiden went missing in early February. His body was recovered from the Connecticut River on April 14. 

Torres said a picture is worth a thousand words, but adds, “Every face tells a story because everyone's face is different. That is what I love about people. Everyone has scars and marks and freckles and contours to their face that tell a story and it's nice to try and capture that."