“I do not want to make just a likeness of someone, rather my goal is to capture the essence of the identity of my subject.”
In my last semester at UNH, my work has focused on Portraiture. I do not want to make just a likeness of someone, rather my goal is to capture the essence of the identity of my subject. Through contrasts, composition and mark I can begin to allude to the meaning behind the image. For example, in the drawing “Amazon Fire” the purpose is to symbolize a catastrophic fire that preceded the portrait by creating high contrast value and referencing smoke in the background. In the portrait titled Chris, the most recent of the pieces, is a portrait of my friend who is very affected by the current state of the world and has been heavy in my thoughts. I wanted to represent this by adding ink and water to the portrait, creating a “hazy” and “unfinished” background as a portrayal of my memory and thoughts rather than a concrete person sitting in front of me. I also wanted to emphasize his beard, as it is a significant part of my understanding of his personality. I have also included the drawing Two Pencils in my exhibition to show a little variety, this drawing was completed in an entirely different way than the rest of the pieces, using line rather than value to construct the piece. The purpose in this drawing was not about the meaning of the person within it, but more so about my struggles figuring out the way I want to draw. I tend to be strict with myself on how I draw. The words of my professors telling me to let go and not think too much often only push me to do the opposite. It was in this piece where I listened, and just let the drawing happen naturally without a preconceived notion on what makes a drawing “good” or “acceptable”. It ended up being one of my favorites from the year. Drawing with two pencils taped together and with the time constraint of drawing from a model made me work in a free flowing and loose way.
As an individual who has transferred twice in my college career and attended three different colleges I have had exposure to the way other art professors advise their students. I have found that in my time at UNH I have been pushed to do things differently more so than anywhere else. Although I often struggle to achieve an end result that I believe is a combination of the way I have always drawn with the idea of letting the drawings happen without preconceptions, I feel I am beginning to actualize those ideas in my work and will continue this sentiment in the future.
Gallery
