Portrait sketching exercises3

This painting was created in 2017. This year I spent more time thinking about art in sketching courses, which also caused a disconnect between my color painting and sketching. I am more bold in looking for the core of Chinese culture in sketches, even though I still know very little about traditional Chinese culture. However, I am more conservative when it comes to color painting.

Overall Size:
Size without the frame:
Date: 2017
Materials:
Condition: well preserved

Creative themes and style | My works revolve around the creative concept of "The land of humanity, People on the land". The people in the painting are people in nature, and the lines, shapes, and colors are close to nature. The nature in the painting is nature in the eyes of humans, existing in interaction with humans.I don’t pursue a series of works with a fixed and continuous style. I hope that the style of the pictures will synchronize with the changes in my life and always remain oscillating. The performance of the work must be in sync with the development of one's own life in order to be Sincere and powerful. Ideas are later.

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Reference view

Artwork Interpretation

In terms of modeling, it accurately outlines the head contour and hair form of the elder. Similar to Käthe Kollwitz’s refinement of the figure’s spirit in her prints, it uses vigorous lines to carve the wrinkles etched by time and the fluffy hair, materializing the vicissitudes of life.

The composition focuses on the side portrait, simple yet with a sense of depth. The blank background makes the viewer’s eyes wander along the lines on the facial contour. Just like Hans Holbein’s portrait paintings, it conveys the spiritual weight with the pure presentation of the figure, highlighting the uniqueness of individual life.

The color relies on the interweaving of black, white, and gray. It creates layers with the density of lines. The heaviness of the dark areas and the sparseness of the light areas are like a simplified application of Rembrandt’s chiaroscuro, endowing the face with a three - dimensional sense and strengthening the profound atmosphere precipitated by time.

The brushwork is the soul. The lines of varying thickness, either fast or slow, vividly interpret the elegance of the hair and the folds of the skin. Comparable to the brushstroke rhythm in Nicolai Fechin’s sketches, it weaves the vitality and story of the figure with lines.

The content is the freezing of the elder’s portrait. The theme focuses on the dialogue between time and life. Through precise modeling and line tension, it conveys the open - mindedness and tenacity of the elder after experiencing vicissitudes. Emotions are hidden among the lines of the hair and beard. It allows viewers to empathize with art’s deep - felt measurement of life’s depth in the realistic brushstrokes and touch the humanistic temperature engraved by time.

FAQs

Q1: Why did the artist choose to depict the subject in profile?

A1: A profile portrait reveals the facial contours and bone structure more clearly, especially the nose bridge, brow ridge, and cheekbones. This approach gives the composition a stronger sense of sculptural form.

Q2: What is distinctive about the brushwork in the hair and beard?

A2: The hair and beard are rendered with loose, flowing strokes, with lines of varying lengths interwoven. This technique conveys both the direction of the hair growth and the spontaneous vitality of sketch-like mark-making.

Q3: How does the artwork convey a sense of age and life experience?

A3: Through dense hatching and nuanced shifts in light and shade, the artist carefully depicts wrinkles and skin texture, making the subject appear aged, weathered, and full of narrative depth.

Q4: What role does the balance of detail and simplification play in the portrait?

A4: The facial features are rendered with great precision, while the jawline and shoulders are treated with much more simplicity. This contrast of focus and looseness directs the viewer’s attention toward the subject’s expression and inner presence.

Q5: How is the subject’s overall character expressed?

A5: The subject’s upward gaze and serene expression, combined with a weathered face and flowing beard, convey a powerful aura of wisdom, resilience, and dignity shaped by time.

Portrait sketching exercises

Similar to Pietro Annigoni’s strict control of the body structure in sketches, it restores the real texture with delicate brushstrokes. Wrinkles and sideburns all hide the traces of time.