This portrait is somewhat out of sequence in relation to the recent paintings. It's from one of my sketchbooks and I rattled it off in about twenty minutes one evening in early December 2011. It was one of those sketches that simply drew itself; every line seemed right and the whole thing was effortless - to use a contemporary idiom, I was in the zone. It's weird the way it sometimes happens and to this day I've not been able to reliably get myself into the zone at will, which can be infuriating on those occasions when things simply do not go well and everything seems difficult. Strange, strange processes at work. Until today, I hadn't seen this sketch from the time I initially drew it, and looking at it again I really like it. If only I could turn it on at will.
I
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I Like it a lot Clive.
Oddly enough it's the image of somebody I know.
How strange.
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That's very kind of you, Alan, thank you.
Wow! To think that I might have a doppelgänger ambling around is quite interesting. Actually, a stranger once struck up an animated conversation with me while I was waiting for a train and it was obvious that the stranger thought that I was someone he knew - and knew well by the sounds of things.
When I gently tried to tell him that I wasn't the person he thought I was he became really aggressive and his parting shot was something like, 'you always were an arrogant barsteward'!
I sometimes wonder if he ever met the 'other me' again after that and what happened when they did!
Sometimes life is stranger than fiction.
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This one is very intense....I can't work out what it feels like... But, I bet that means it is a very good portrait!New comment
The use of line is amazing. It has a very menacing feel to it.
Gillian
and it's very creative !!
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Gillian, that's right! I see menace too... Can't imagine how people capture this with pen, pencil or paint.New comment
Well, well, thank you Emily and Gillian for your very intriguing comments. I certainly do have a certain expression when I'm looking hard during these short, intense drawings, so maybe that's what's coming through. I like the idea that I could be thought of as menacing - I'm actually as soft as putty!New comment
It's a really lovely drawing. I don't find it menacing, but it has an edginess to it that makes it much more interesting.
I especially like the colour you've used. I love brown ink and my Rotring Art pen, although it's getting harder to find.