Char-actor: drawings by Winfred Hawkins

whawkins wrote

on 8 Mar 2010 2:39 PM

graphite. 24in x 18.75in

This is the first phase of a portrait of a friend of mine.

detail.

YSokolov wrote

on 8 Mar 2010 5:25 PM

Wow! Such detail and realistic way of drawing! Great job!

whawkins wrote

on 11 Mar 2010 7:56 AM

Thanks.

I don't draw like this very often, so it's kind of nice getting back into it. However, phase 2 is really what this piece is about.

I hope....I will be able to get some good photo's today. See what reaction people will have when I post it.

Paul Sullivan wrote

on 11 Mar 2010 10:12 AM

This work is excellent. Just keep doing it and you'll get the recognition you deserve. 

www.paulsullivanstudio.com

Paulk wrote

on 12 Mar 2010 12:58 PM

Exceptional work. Fantastic technique and composition. Looking forward to seeing the other portraits.

whawkins wrote

on 12 Mar 2010 12:58 PM

Thanks. That means a lot. There aren't that many artist's where I live....well...there are a few, but none that inspire me. I really wanted to have posted the final one by now, but stuff keeps coming up. Next week for sure.

There are many artists that only focus on the technical aspects of art, but forget about the message. lol, I used to be one, once upon a time. One can easily get lost in the two extremes.

1. Academic (old masters, exact reproductions, anatomy, etc.)

2. Emotion and expression without any real foundation (abstract, shock art, impressionism, cubism, etc.)

There aren't that many artists that find a good balance, where message and style / technical ability are holding hands. This is what I try to do.

I believe in order to create powerful works one must have the ability to be a chameleon. "form follows function." Just because you can do a thing, does not mean you should.

Point and case Jimmy Hendrix "Machine Gun." A revolution of it's day because the way he solos is directly related to the theme / what he's trying to say. Every random sound, noise, screech, is infused with the message.

Paulk wrote

on 14 Mar 2010 10:50 AM

Right you are. Hendrix is a great example. Like what he did songs like Mannish Boy and Born Under a Bad Sign are living examples of taking old masters (standards) and making them your own.

Keep moving!

whawkins wrote

on 16 Mar 2010 3:52 PM

finished.

detail.

Title: Bekah Scar

Media: Graphite

Size: 24.75in x 18in

whawkins wrote

on 25 Mar 2010 8:29 AM

Booker T. Washington

For a charity auction at Tuskegee University

Margo5 wrote

on 25 Mar 2010 8:43 AM

This is very nicely done.

Diane B2 wrote

on 25 Mar 2010 2:22 PM

Crud bucket. I am very humbled. This work is wonderful. I love realism, but some people can get so fixated on it that they lose the emotion, which is so essential and is one characteristic that separates a craft from art. Also, it can be dangerous to get too caught up in hyper-realism because, one mistake can throw the whole thing off. That is definitely not a problem with your work, Winfred. When you do opt for more expressiveness over realism, e.g., Booker T. Washington's bowtie, it is a conscious decision and adds to the piece, making it more potent and interesting.

I thought the portrait of your friend was great as it was, but adding the second phase makes it more of a study. What does it mean? My knee-jerk impression, and looking at it again, is the one I am landing on, is that her potrait is encased in broken or scratched glass. I immediately thought of a the product of a scorned friend, be it platonic or romantic. The person was so hurt that even though the photo could not be thrown away, it must be damaged. Am I close?

Jimi Hendrix is a good analogy. I also think of Neil Young. He knows the fundamentals, yet chooses his own way to express his ideas. I do firmly believe that you need to know the rules before you can break them properly.   

Diane

whawkins wrote

on 26 Mar 2010 8:34 AM

It's drawn on illustration board. I actually got carvers tools and scratched through it.

Your response is exactly what I was trying to portray. The way people understand art and the world around them. At first it's like...oh wow that is a really cool realistic looking drawing. It has no purpose except "hay look at how will I can draw." And then you destroy it...and people are like..."ahhh, why did you do that." Now all kinds of conversation starts. The questions of why, meaning, and purpose arise.

I am not a portrait artist. I actually hate drawing them, mostly because it is a lie. The most rotten; twisted, or perhaps; degraded and abused person will come up to you asking you to draw them in some cute "everything is o.k" style / pose.

To me a portrait is not a facade, it should embody the actual character of the one being depicted.

Having said that, Bekah is one of my friends who has issues with her appearance. A lot of women do. Most of the time it's because of ill treatment / society / guys acting stupid. It frustrates me. This piece is a parable of that feeling. How people are ruined through situations. They will go throughout life never realizing their true value and worth.

That is why I spent so much time drawing it, to be as detailed as possible, to get into peoples heads the amount of concentration and patience one must have to produce a work like this...to only, in the end, destroy it. I almost couldn't do it. I stared at it for two days trying to figure out the best way to scratch it.

whawkins wrote

on 29 Mar 2010 8:28 AM

Another friend of mine

Amanda the Strong

detail

the needle and thread is real.

judyl40 wrote

on 29 Mar 2010 10:34 AM

Powerful work. I do think you're really onto something here, Winfred.. Metaphor stirs up thoughts & questions.

Thanks for showing these.

whawkins wrote

on 30 Mar 2010 7:43 AM

Thanks.

Indeed. I've never really thought of them as metaphor's, but that's exactly what they are.

This person is as a _______.

That person is like a _______.

Explaining it that way, will open a whole new set of possibilities.