Rousseau – 75 x 45 inch pen and ink drawing
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Our good friends Ed and DJ were having dinner with us at a nice Westport restaurant and Rousseau served us (she later recalled that we were a ‘good’ table). She was so pleasant and with such a mobile expression and well defined features and that wonderful tuxedo-esqu blouse… I wanted to use her for a portrait right away… DJ asked me if there was something wrong — she said I kept staring at our waitress — and honestly, I couldn’t tear my eyes away. I introduced myself and asked if she’d model for me. She was flattered, said yes right away, and a few days later came down to the studio so I could photograph her. I’d asked her to wear the same blouse and… It was a terrific 90 minutes as she told me about her life and childhood and parents and… Well — a number of my photos of her are super-expressive and well suited t0 my drawing, painting, and printmaking… But this one called out to be first and I love the image and love this face and wispy hair and… Well, EVERYTHING, really. Kinda recalls earlier Netherlandish portraits, doesn’t it? A little?
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I think it is beautiful she is my cousin, She has that 1940′s look! Great picture she also looks alot like her Mother!
I am glad that you spotted my daughter, Jessica. She has always been unique in looks and personality and I thank you for capturing one of her many wonderful moments. Your artistry is truly lovely!
When you’re working with paper on such a large scale, in such close detail, how do you manage the paper so that it’s not flopping all over the place, yet you’re still able to have access to all parts of the drawing? I would think that mounting the paper to a rigid base would make it hard to reach some areas, but allowing the paper to fold or curl to make it easier to get to everything would seem out of the question, also. Are you working with the paper mounted upright? (Wouldn’t that create ink-flow problems in the pens?) BTW, I’m sure you hate comparisons to Chuck Close, but I’d have to say I actually prefer what I’ve seen of your work — your technique seems to give a lot of life to the surface; much more enjoyable.
Hi, Dave… The paper is held horizontally by vacuum on MDF which has been ‘waffled’ on the opposite side… I use Fein’s smallest vacuum for suction — each lasts around 500 to 600 hours… You can get a better idea about the set-up if you have a look at http://mlyon.com/2008/07/a-second-cnc-machine/
Chuck Close is one of my heroes, actually — I talk a little about his influence on my work here: http://mlyon.com/2008/07/linda-77×46-inch-pen-and-ink-drawing-in-spiral/
Best always,
Mike
Ah! Thanks for your quick reply — I see now that I should have done a little more legwork on your methods before I asked the question. It’s all so obvious once you know how it’s done! Thanks!
As for Chuck Close, I admire a lot of his work, but it’s like looking at the Sphinx or the Great Wall of China or something: On that scale one feels that there shouldn’t be too many of them in one place. I saw one of his self-portraits in New York a few weeks ago, with nothing else of that scale in the room, and it was quite breathtaking.
Thanks again! Great work!
Hi, this is Calin from Romania, I’m a first year Art student (in painting) and I just have to ask, is there a method to this? A clear order of doing things that you apply?
I have tried figuring some stuff out from the details, but needless to say it’s way too complex to get the whole logic of it.
I am looking to learn a bit about pen+ink as well, as we’ll be working with this technique a lot, and those circle-like shapes you use are simply fascinating!
Please explain a bit if you can
These are images I ‘like’ and, at the same time, explorations of various methods image can be communicated vis traditional tools and unconventional methods… Each piece takes a slightly (or sometimes radically) different in approach – the drawings all have something to do with crosshatching to approximate value. If you explore the site more, I think you’ll better understand this work…