Drawn from Life by Helen Birch

Author:Helen Birch [Birch, Helen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Chronicle Books LLC
Published: 2017-03-19T04:00:00+00:00

SWIMMER

Medium: Mixed media

Photo as reference

DENISE NESTOR

Pre-photography, portraiture was only for those that could afford it. Portraits were commissioned pieces of art—not just a record of what someone looked like, but a statement about the sitter’s qualities, depicting things such as wealth, power, status, or beauty. Now, the commissioning of a portrait is a much rarer thing. Artists are more likely to use those known to them, and to draw them in whatever pose or style they choose.

There are several drawings in this book where the sitter is well-known to the artist. This is one of them. It cleverly combines aspects of formal portraiture with an informal photographic snapshot approach. The sitter peers out at us informally. He scrutinizes us, his head turned slightly to one side, eyebrow raised, and with a direct and quizzical gaze. His hair, semi-beard, and clothing are all very relaxed.

Formal components of the drawing come with its composition. The man is placed in a measured way on the page, and any distracting background is stripped out. Placing him centrally in a plain, uncluttered space means we focus solely on him. The even closer attention to detail that the artist achieves using graphite pencil reveals a deep understanding of grayscale tonal values—white through black. The red diamonds on the man’s sweater counter the grays in terms of a shock of color, in addition to the cruder way in which they are rendered.

A detailed pencil work like this would not be done completely from life, i.e. with the sitter present. A series of photographs would aid its rendition.

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