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      Revealing Struggles and Joy, Expressive Portraits Are Superimposed onto Watercolor Foliage

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      Art

      #flowers
      #plants
      #portraits
      #watercolor

      September 24, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      “Being true to your nature III.” All images © Àngela Maria Sierra, shared with permission
      Spanish artist Àngela Maria Sierra, who works as Riso Chan, explores the human psyche through subtly layered foliage. “I always imagine that they are someone’s soul, what we don’t see, our nature,” Sierra says of the delicate botanical assemblages that she overlays onto her subjects’ faces and torsos. Each portrait begins with a focus on texture and pattern as the artist paints clusters of twigs and leaves with watercolor. She then scans those botanical elements and uses Procreate to superimpose the figure onto the original piece.
      Alongside their simple beauty, the pastel paintings, some of which are self-portraits, reflect the narratives and worries that consume the artist’s daily life. She describes her work as “a journal where I express moments or feelings that are important for me during those days. It’s a way to give those feelings space and then let them go.” Tied to both struggles and joys, topics include finding freedom through creativity during lockdown, growing up in an drug-filled home, and the bravery required to move forward.
      Based in Amsterdam, Sierra is the founder of Bloom Art House, which hosts creative workshops throughout the capital city. Keep up with her expressive artworks on Instagram.

      “Freedom”
      “Being true to your nature II”

      “Spring”
      Left: “Turning on the lights inside.” Right: “Being true to your nature I”
      “New Path”
      “Toxic home”

      #flowers
      #plants
      #portraits
      #watercolor

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      Hyperrealistic Portraits by Artist Arinze Stanley Reflect the Emotions of Black Experiences

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      Art

      #activism
      #black and white
      #charcoal
      #graphite
      #hyperrealism
      #portraits

      September 19, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      “Mindless #3.” All images © Arinze Stanley, courtesy of Corey Helford Gallery, shared with permission
      Arinze Stanley describes his hyperrealistic drawings as “a simple language of my feelings.” In a statement about his new series titled Paranormal Portraits, the Nigerian artist (previously) says he uses his art as a form of political activism and as a way to amplify the voices of those who are unheard. Stanley noes that the relationships he fosters with his subjects are complicated and more often a reflection of himself:
      In my opinion, artists are custodians of time and reality, hence why I try to inform the future about the reality of today, and through these surreal portraits seen in my new body of work, Paranormal Portraits, navigate my viewers into what is almost a psychedelic and uncertain experience of being Black in the 21st Century.
      Using graphite and charcoal pencils, Stanley draws with such detail, capturing a stray hair or glimmer of beading sweat. Whether featuring a subject wrapped in hands or dripping in paint, the monochromatic portraits are intimate, expressive, and “born out of the zeal for perfection both in skill, expression, and devotion to create positive changes in the world. I draw inspiration from life experiences and basically everything that sparks a feeling of necessity,” Stanley says.
      If you’re in Los Angeles, Stanley’s work will be on view at Corey Helford Gallery starting October 3. Otherwise, head to Instagram and check out this video from Great Big Story capturing his deftly rendered artworks.

      “The Machine Man #7”
      Left: “People and Paper #1.” Right: “The Machine Man #6″
      “Paranormal Portrait #3”

      #activism
      #black and white
      #charcoal
      #graphite
      #hyperrealism
      #portraits

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      Vivid Botanics and Butterflies Encircle Photographer Fares Micue in Striking Self-Portraits

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      Art
      Photography

      #butterflies
      #flowers
      #portraits
      #self-portrait

      August 26, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      “Memories of a rainy day.” All images © Fares Micue, shared with permission
      Surrounded by monarchs or a blanket of blue leaves, Fares Micue (previously) captures vividly composed self-portraits. The Spain-based photographer conceals her face and instead focuses on the organic elements surrounding her torso. Whether a series of origami birds or yellow and red twigs resembling flames, the natural additions merge seamlessly with Micue, who bends and contorts her figure to follow the shapely forms of the arranged objects.
      In a note to Colossal, the photographer said she’s been more inclined to create since the onset of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, considering her work an invitation into self-reflection. “I am a firm believer that how we think and feel about life is how we will perceive reality. We must train our brain to always search for the bright side and find hope among the desolation,” she says. While people may not have control over global crises, they are not without agency. “I want them to feel powerful and (acknowledge) the power they have over their life experience and how to use that experience to grow and learn,” she writes.
      Find more of the Micue’s nature-infused photographs on Instagram, and pick up limited edition prints on Saatchi Art.

      “The power of becoming”
      “Imaginary prison”
      “Growing wiser”
      “Fly me away”
      “Defensive III”

      #butterflies
      #flowers
      #portraits
      #self-portrait

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      Monumental Ballpoint Pen Portraits Are Rendered on Vintage Collateral by Artist Mark Powell

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      Art
      Illustration

      #found objects
      #maps
      #portraits
      #postcard

      August 9, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Mark Powell, shared with permission
      From his Brighton-based studio on the seafront, Mark Powell (previously) pieces together crinkled book pages and postcards laden with travel dispatches. The vintage collages serve as backdrops for the artist’s oversized portraits of older folks, whose pensive stares and deep wrinkles are rendered gently in ballpoint pen. Often magnified, the subjects complement the weathered, ephemeral surfaces that span multiple feet. “I’m currently working on a series of larger works because they have much more impact on the viewer, more confronting yet comfortable I’m hoping. It is also much more tricky because by just using a ballpoint pen no mistakes can be made, and it would be a terrible shame to ruin a map, document, or letter that has survived hundreds of years only to be destroyed by me,” he shares with Colossal.
      Each enlarged illustration—which sometimes depicts famous subjects, like Basquiat and Hunter S. Thompson— takes about a month to complete, and Powell generally works on more than one simultaneously. Recently, he’s started to slow down his artistic production as he shifts away from creating for dozens of shows every year. “The past two years, I’ve taken a step back from shows slightly to allow that evolution space to breathe. It has meant that the quality of the work has increased immeasurably (still much room for improvement of course),” he says.
      Powell’s detailed illustrations will be included in an upcoming show at Hang-Up Gallery in London. Until then, dive into his repurposed projects on Behance and Instagram, and check out the available prints in his shop.

      #found objects
      #maps
      #portraits
      #postcard

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      Vibrant Digital Portraits by Artist Alexis Franklin Emphasize the Nuances of Emotions

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      Art
      Illustration

      #Black Lives Matter
      #digital
      #portraits

      August 3, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Alexis Franklin, shared with permission
      Dallas-based artist Alexis Franklin considers her digital renderings a reinvention of the expected. “I’ve always seen the world through a filter that brings vibrance and excitement to things most people wouldn’t notice, and that’s something that I really want to have come across in my work,” she says of her expressive paintings. Through facial expressions, gestures, and color, each work highlights the nuances of the subjects’ experience, personality, and mood.
      A church videographer by day, painting is Franklin’s side-project and one for which she’s received an influx of attention in recent days. She illustrated an affective portrait of Breonna Taylor, who was murdered by three Louisville police officers in March, for the cover of O, The Oprah Magazine. The two-decades-old publication has only ever featured Oprah Winfrey. This isn’t the 24-year-old’s first high-profile cover, though: she also created a powerful rendering of Anita Hill for Time earlier this year.
      Franklin often shares time-lapses of her paintings-in-progress—which you can watch below and on YouTube and Instagram—that document every step of her process. “I tend to stay in the present with my work. I don’t really imagine where it’s headed,” she writes to Colossal. “I just let each project be what it is, and then I move to the next one with fresh eyes. And I’m very grateful that each project continuously seems to find me!” (via Kottke)

      

      #Black Lives Matter
      #digital
      #portraits

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      Formed With Geometric Blocks of Color, Modern Women Exhibit Strength in Artist Luciano Cian’s Prints

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      Art
      Illustration

      #portraits
      #posters and prints

      July 23, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Luciano Cian, shared with permission
      Artist Luciano Cian’s latest series Geo explores the power, perseverance, and stability of contemporary women through bold colors and gesture. Simple lines and geometric shapes comprise the nondescript figures, who tend to look away from the viewer with striking facial expressions. Relying heavily on the tension between symmetry and asymmetry, Cian tells Colossal he’s inspired the aesthetics of Brazilian modernist artists like painter Athos Bulcão and architect Oscar Niemeyer. Dive into more of the Rio de Janeiro-based artist’s vibrant prints on Behance and Instagram, and check out which pieces are available to add to your collection.

      #portraits
      #posters and prints

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    • 188 Shares129 Views

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      Artist Seamus Wray Paints a Dizzying Series of Portraits of Himself Painting Portraits of Himself

      by

      
      Art

      #humor
      #painting
      #portraits
      #self-portrait

      July 23, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Seamus Wray, shared with permission
      Channeling M.C. Escher and the Droste effect, more broadly, a Chicago-based artist has been painting portraits of himself painting portraits of himself. Seamus Wray, who’s appeared in a similar project shared on Colossal, began with a single representation (shown above) and mirrored his pose in a photograph of the work. He then repeated that process five times, which resulted in a recursive, mixed-media series that changes slightly with each iteration—two cats make an appearance in the final portraits.
      Wray hopes the potentially infinite project begs the questions, “What comes next? Another painting. Are we all just living in a painting? What if this is a painting, within a painting?… I have painted hundreds of self-portraits over the years, and this seemed to be a natural progression from those, as I seem to be going mad painting myself, painting myself,” he tells Colossal.
      Much of Wray’s work is centered on internet culture and media, and he frequently paints bright, saturated depictions of memes and iconic characters from various television shows and movies, many of which he shares on Instagram. The artist also sells prints and other goods with his work on Threadless. (via Kottke)

      #humor
      #painting
      #portraits
      #self-portrait

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      Powerful and Emotive, Artist Patrick Onyekwere’s Hyperrealistic Portraits Are Rendered Meticulously in Ballpoint Pen

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      Art

      #drawing
      #hyperrealism
      #pen
      #photorealism
      #portraits

      July 16, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Patrick Onyekwere, shared with permission
      Patrick Onyekwere imbues his photorealistic portraits with layers of emotion. Before sketching with blue, ballpoint pen, the Nigerian artist invites his subjects into a conversation about their lives, contemporary culture, and nature to establish the mood or story he’s hoping to convey. Their responses produce a collaborative endeavor that organically merges their perspectives and histories, which the artist translates to his artworks.
      Onyekwere collects a few snapshots of his subject for reference as he meticulously shades and crosshatches every inch of his hyperrealistic pieces. The artist sees his powerful renderings as “speaking for those who can’t speak for themselves” and finds the subjects’ eyes most interesting. “They mirror some of our deepest desires, fears, inhibitions, perceptions, thoughts, most of which we ourselves are consciously unaware of,” he says. “(The eyes have) the power to convey emotions and feelings and also communicate and connect to the viewer, inviting them to live in an untold story, in such a way they don’t see an already existing piece but take part in the creation of it.”
      To see Onyekwere’s portraits-in-progress and follow more of his expressive works, follow him on Instagram and YouTube.

      #drawing
      #hyperrealism
      #pen
      #photorealism
      #portraits

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