TIME PASSING BY

The medium used by Bromhead is graphite pencil. Due to the medium used  there is no overall colour in her work. I feel as if the lack of colour fits in well with the subject of the piece. Often you relate old age using the colours black, white and grey and therefore communicates elderliness well. As well as this, after more intense research I also found that within her earlier experiments within sketchbooks, that she often used some form of liquefied medium such as pen wash or acrylic. Unfortunately, I have had to make this assumption and there is no information as to what she physically used. Moreover, the medium allows her to create deep tones and soft textures which help emphasise the eyes themselves. The size of the work isn't necessarily big, but I feel as if due to the intense detail and hyperrealism it still catches the eye. There are no obvious marks or techniques used in her work other than blending to create a seamless finish.

At first I found that the content of Bromhead’s seemed mainly to be old men, but after more thorough research I was also able to find sketches of old women. Her style itself consists of only mainly drawing the eyes, and leaving the rest of the face ‘unfinished’. I like the idea of using this style as it leaves the viewer thinking there is something missing meaning wise. From the information I could find throughout my research, her work explores the idea of an anonymous aging face, making the enquiry to question what the wrinkled lines reveal, and deliberately withholding information to challenge any assumptions made.

There is a high realistic depiction within her work especially within the eyes, due to the fact that she creates her observation drawings recording from photographs (picture reference below).For me, the clear theme of her work is the mystery of old age, which links in well with my theme of ‘time passing by’.

In my opinion the specific use  of graphite pencil fits in well with the style of Bromhead’s work due to the techniques created using the medium. For example, it would be a lot harder to create the smooth rhythm and blended edges she has in her work using acrylic paint or oil pastels. Luckily, there is evidence showing Bromhead using this specific medium. Moreover her website, http://carla-bromhead.tumblr.com  shows her sketchbooks  experiments  of her development work (referenced below)

Personally, Bromhead’s work leaves me feeling incomplete – as if I don’t know everything about the individuals in the drawings and because the art works style itself appears almost ‘unfinished’ due to the outlines of the face.

The aspect of Bromhead’s work that I would like to take forward is the use of old age and leaving a message hidden within the art work. The aspect that I would like to leave behind, is the use of males within her work. Due to my previous research into Mark Santiago, and my experiments taking photos of my female relatives, I would like to keep the theme of women running through my project, to give off a more personal touch and twist. The main reason i have chosen to research into Bromhead is because of her focus on the eyes and the appearnce of the artwork being 'unfinished'. In my view, the unfinished appearance sends the message that the lives of the indiviudal are still continuing and that what makes up a person such as personality and memories from everyday life and still being made and stored away.