Dining Tables by the Window, 30″ x 24″, $800, color pencil
Artist’s Statement
My large color pencil drawings explore the human figure in various moods and settings.
I work exclusively with colored pencils and color pencil art sticks. The art sticks are identical to the pencils except they do not come in wood casings. The sticks allow me to work in a larger area and at a quicker pace than I can with pencils.
I draw on a French, acid-free printmaking paper known as Rives BFK paper.
Most of my work is derived from photographs. Often I’ll begin by focusing on a single person or element within that photograph, and then let my imagination take over.
Where I place a figure on the page, whether it is centered, in a corner, or on the side, influences the feeling evoked in the viewer. My intent is to explore the interaction between the subject and the surrounding space.
Just as manipulating a figure’s placement enhances its psychological dimensions, so too does exaggerating and distorting the image impart a feeling that cannot be conveyed by a realistic representation. By keeping a subject’s physical characteristics vague, for example, I encourage the viewer to complete the figure with his/her own personal vision. Additionally, distorting an image lets me impart a feeling or movement that cannot be conveyed by realistic representation.