Artist 4 | timepassingby

ARTIST RESEARCH 4 - MARK POWELL

The majority of Powell’s work is portraits of old individuals, both men and women. His drawings hold hyperrealism and therefore no particular section is exaggerated or distorted. I am unsure of the meaning of the work exactly, but personally I interpret it as each piece of work secretly representing a past of an individual. Even though Powell doesn’t know who he is actually drawing, he is still taking a part of history as a background and bringing forward and individual and reflecting their past life.

Personally the aspect that stands out the most within his drawings for my is the eyes. Due to the fact that the rest of the face is so intricate the eyes become very piercing and bold. Moreover, because the full face doesn’t always appear to be finished in his work it draws even more attention to the center of the picture – in this case being the eyes.

The medium of the work is biro pen used on old scraps of paper that could consist of letters/envelopes,song notes/lyrics or maps. During my research I found out that he choses to use a biro as it is the most common tool meaning he is able to show what can be done with such also found that he choses his specific canvas’ due to the fact that they hold history and a hint of a story, much like the faces that the chooses to draw – ‘they compliment each other and I hope leads the viewer to wonder, and maybe create, a history for the two.’ The majority of his work is black and white due to the medium used, apart from the touch of colour that is oftenfrom the background itself. Due to the content of the work there are multiple marks and techniques used such as stippling. The majority of the marks made are lines to create a realistic depiction of the wrinkles and textures within the subjects face. Moreover, because of the blending techniques carried out Powell is able to create a seamless detailed finish.

Powell explains that he has no emotional connection with either the individual he is drawing or the ‘canvas’ he is using because they are both ‘strangers’ to him. To me, this gives off a more mysterious touch to his work making it overall more attractive and appealing. His work gives off an enigmatic atmosphere due to the old aged characters within his portraits – this is something I would like to capture within my current experimentations.

There is both written and photographic evidence to suggest that Powell uses biro pens to create his artwork (pictures shown below). He also stated that he creates his observation drawings from photographs. It is clear through his work that he sketches the outline of the face using pencil first because going in with the biro pen.

WORKING IN THE STYLE OF POWELL - PERSONAL COLLECTION OF OLD DOCUMENTS

To continue to work in the style of Powell, I asked my Nanny to collect some of her old books and journals that I would be able to draw on and use as a background similar to Powell himself.

I interpret Powells work not just as the effects of aging on the human face, but as an untold story. I see it more like Bromheads work, as if the old documents behind the old aged face are in fact the past of the individual, and that the reason the drawings appear unfinished, is because their lives are still being written. I believe if I include a part of my Nannies past behind her portrait it will be more personal as well as giving off a more emotive effect.

BIRO PEN DRAWING EXPERIMENT

Initially to begin my experimentation working in the style of Powell, I began to draw on the various documents that I had collected. I felt because he only draws on top of documents that it was necessary to start experimenting on some of my own. For example, the particular document I chose to enlarge was the page from ‘The Polishers Guide’. I chose to draw on this particular page due to the fact that it had some of the most muted tones and colours. I felt as if each other document had too much writing or pictures which would distract the viewer from the drawing itself rather than enhance it.

At first I found the biro pen itself quite hard to work with due to the fact that it didn’t blend like graphite pencil does. Although, after I had analysed Powells work in more detail, I picked up the technique a lot quicker and found the biro easier to work with. I found that smaller hand motions and marks of the paper created a much more even tone and gradient.

As well as this, I also experimented on crumpled up tissue paper. I felt tissue paper was a suitable material to experiment on as it was successful within my experiment of working in the style of Bromhead. I found that the crumples and crimps within the tissue paper worked very well in emphasising the wrinkles that I was already drawing and mae the process a lot easier as well as quicker. Due to the use of line, it also helped to emphasis the ‘unfinished appearance inspired by Bromhead.

If I were to experiment with this further on within my project, I would adapt the background of the older documents using Photoshop to lighten the tones to make sure that the background wasn’t so strong that it took the detail away from the drawing.

PHOTOSHOP EXPERIMENT

Another experiment I carried out was merging my biro drawing and an image of a map together. The map I have chosen to use is Northumberland, where my grandmother was brn. I bleiev having such history behind an image of my Nanny will be very striking and bold.

I was inspired by Powells work to create this experiment, but felt it would be more effective merging the two images together rather than drawing directly on the map because it is more original and technical.

To create the image itself, I had to add both images to photoshop I drag one of the other. I tried dragging both the map ontop on the face and the face ontop of the map to give a different effect.

Afterwards, I was able to position the images together correctly making sure they were of a similar size. This now meant I was able to merge the images together reducing the oppacity of the image on top. Layering the images different ways gave off a different effect each time. As well as this, i was also able to adjust the saturation and colour tone of the map image to make it more subltle so it didnt over power the drawing.

Once I had completed the edits, I was able to edit them further outside of Photoshop. Using the WIX photo editer, I was able to add various filters ontop of the image to make it appear more old looking or more of an etch or pencil drawing than a biro.

In my opinion, I believe this experiment has been very successful as the images together are very sublte and dont over power eachother but still stands out. As well as this, I also believe the following edits really added a unique touch, making them link in more with the theme of old age.

These edits also link in with the artist Carla Bromhead, due to the use of the 'unfinished' appearance and subtle faded lines.

I feel as if the map in the background itself also helps to emphasise the lines and wrinkles already drawn in the portrait. I like the visual aspect of the rivers and the the streams running through Northumberland almost being in the veins and wrinkles of my grandmothers skin. Showing that it is lived with her its whole life and has imprinted in her skin.

ARTIST COMPARE AND CONTRST - MARK POWELL & SILKE WERZINGER

During my research into Mark Powell, I came across Werzinger who uses a similar technique and process.

Instantly the first similarity i notice is the use of biro pen and 'unfinished' outline appearnce. Although, it seems as if Powell includes alot more detil within his work and creates more tone and depth. For example, if you study their work individually you csn see that Wirzinger uses more lines and cross hatching where as Powell uses more circular motions to emphasise the wrinkles.

On the other hand a significant difference is the contast of black and blue pen. I feel as if the blue pen makes the portrait look alot more modern compared to Powells. This modern theme links in with the rest of the image. For example, the individual within the portrait isnt as old as the individuals Powell uses. Also the use of bright colours, random animals and symetrical patterns is the complete opposite to the neutral old looking art work that Powell creates.