Last time I showed you some of my favourite drawings and paintings. The journey is still happening for me but I’ve since developed my skills. The following are some of my favourite pieces I did during lockdown.
This piece was drawn originally with textas on A4 paper from a printer. Over time I fell in love with it’s simplicity and decided to give it a grander scale, printing it onto a canvas and entering it into the Laird’s Men on Men Art Competition in 2021.
In early 2021 we had only been out of lockdown for a few months in Melbourne. This was a sohnigovant piece based on historical sculpture Pieta by Michaelangelo. Though I am not a religious man there was something spiritual about being free enough to attend life drawing again in person. I decided to express this freedom by using a different style. You’ll notice the finer tipped pen used to draw this.
This was a special piece. Black Lives Matters took an unexpected twist in 2020. You will note I have written a piece about the trauma of BLM and my relationship to colourism in my own family. Being able to respect people of colour with this beautiful work was important. So I did so, with charcoal for tradition but enhancing it with coloured textas to bring some modern life and drama to the work.
This is an important piece because it was a time I decided to add something new to my drawings. Shadows. This enhances the drawing significantly and it becomes clear to me that a black and white drawing can beckons dramatic without the need for colour. This was a lonely pose. Though the model is a fun loving euro dude, the pose shows us the multiple layers to our humanity.
One of my absolute favourite pieces. Sometimes the works we love so much aren’t particularly rated well by those around us. Maybe it’s because it’s a woman. Perhaps because there’s no nudity. But those are two reasons I like it even more. Life drawing isn’t about nudity or lust for me. I’m not a prude. I’m just not a fake or pervert masquerading as an artist either. This piece was almost a shocking failure. I had previously drawn the full body pose and it was dreadful. In the last 5 minutes I decided to give it a second go, taking my time to focus on her face, use graceful lines and capture her melancholy expression. I’m so glad with what came out of it.
I really love using colour. This beautiful couple posed in the seductive light of burning candles. There’s something romantic about this. The idea and even in afterlife, they will be embraced.
The casting couch is a famous trope for rising stars in showbiz. Hollywood is now famous for the idea that women would be subjected to sexual harassment or assault in order to secure coveted roles. Men were no exception though, with many influential directors making homosexual advances on ambitious young men. This pose reminds me of that, with beautiful model Felippe presenting himself for a ticket to success.
The final piece I want to talk about is this one. Again, a result I didn’t expect. This was a Zoom session with the beautiful model in the picture, Naomi. I struggled to get a drawing I liked then all of a sudden I found my zone. I loved bringing the character to life with bold colour and really capturing the expression. This drawing reminds me of the character Kit De Luca in Pretty Woman, so I call it Cinda-F#%Ken-ella.
Phoenix 