“The Guide”

After the first portrait, I started to develop more and more of a consistent style and theme. Also, after the first portrait, I wanted to get to know the models more personally. “Who are they?” “Why are they into leather?” “What makes this community their home?” So after Keron, I sought to do just that.

“The Guide”

Materials: Bristol Paper (11”x14”), Faber Castell Graphite Pencils, Faber Castell Matte Graphite Pencils, Ohuho 320 Marker Set, and also Prisma Color 150 color pencil set.

I met this model’s husband, Ed, first, and then I met Duncan. I wanted to capture his eyes. Looking into his eyes you can see his guidance emanating through his character. He also had a sense of pride. He accepts himself as for who “he” is, and I had to capture that. All of this was just my “read” on him. Which made sense with what his occupation is. Plus isn’t the eyes just a window into the soul?

The Process of this portrait was honestly really fun. I am thrilled with how the white beard came out. The only thing, that was a struggle, about this portrait was that the actual source took me almost a couple of days to develop. Which is not normal for me. Usually, it takes about two hours in total. After going back and forth with myself, and also the model. I wanted to do my best, so I developed what you see now.

The full black leather was also challenging, but it wasn’t something I wasn’t accustomed to. I practiced drawing leather sheets, and also clothing in sketchbooks. All rough drawings, but I wanted to get used to drawing the light and the shadows. Having a clear definition of the two. Will make any portrait work. In my last post, I spoke briefly about “Tom of Finland,” and how he inspired me to create and develop my style. Tom’s drawings of the leather jackets helped me define the biker-style jacket Duncan is wearing.

I also started taking more inspiration from other artists, such as John Singer Sargent and Caravaggio. Both are fantastic portrait artists, but one of them had this “swagger” when he painted. This was John… John’s portraits of “Madame X” and also the “Dr. Pozzi or Dr. Pozzi at Home.” If you take a closer look at his work, you can see his simple brush strokes and also his bendability. Which I was super impressed with. As for Caravaggio, he captured light beautifully. Something I hope to stride towards in the upcoming years of my life as an artist.

Another artist I love is Van Gogh, I wanted to incorporate his style into these portraits. Not in the figures, but in the background with the hankies. Using his techniques on color theory making all the hankies identifiable was super important to this. It is crucial to the whole series.

Soon after Duncan, I already had the next portrait prepped and ready to go. His husband Ed was next on the list…