Artist Statement

This piece is composed of 5 small (6”x9”) black and white charcoal drawings, paired with one large (12”x15”) colored piece in chalk pastel. The small pieces are each a render of a 35mm film photo that I have taken over the past year. I chose portraits of each of the influential women in my life; a best friend, a sister, a mother, a stepmother, a grandmother. I chose these women because I wanted to choose a subject that deserved my attention, and deserved appreciation. I’ve spent approximately 2-3 hours on each piece, adding layers of preliminary charcoal, then layers of erasing to create the right amount of contrast and depth within the drawing. Then going in with charcoal pencils of varying strength to add detail and shading. The piece du jour was the addition of the white charcoal pencil, which nicely blends all of the charcoal and adds highlights where they are needed. It also creates a texture that is well suited for drawing skin and hair. I chose to leave the backgrounds blurred and preliminary as to add emphasis to the portraits in the center. Some of the photos were originally in black and white, some of them I edited into black and white, I chose this pallette because I was inspired by the simplicity and nostalgic effect of black and white in photography. It is also much easier to render shading and tones in the black and white format. Furthermore, I am particularly keen on charcoal, and I like to experiment with the small variety of strengths of the pencils.
As for the large piece, I chose to go in a different direction and chose one of my favorite color photos that I had recently taken on a solo camping trip in Bryce Canyon. I was inspired by the natural beauty of the landscape, and the impressive range in color within each individual photo, regardless of the contents. The photo I chose has a unique composition, of a large rock structure framed symmetrically by two angled trees, and a touch of greenery edging the rock. The rock itself has a gorgeous range in colors of tans, reds, and yellows. I chose chalk pastel for the same reason that I chose charcoal for the adjoining pieces, because of their texture and blending abilities. I like the contrast of this piece in color, and as a larger statement piece paired with the small black and whites.

I plan to stage this piece as a randomly arranged collection, with the pieces close together but not linear with each other. With all of the drawings together, I envision this piece to resemble a wall of family photos in someone's home, each one exemplifying a person or memory that is important to me. I intend on distributing the photos to each of the women in them, as to spread my rendition of home to people I love.