Friday, July 17, 2009

Terms of Characters...


One of the greatness of pen and ink rendering is that in utilizing this 'either/or' and 'unforgiving' medium, there is much effort put into the quality of the rendering, not just in so much of the detailing, but in terms of expressing the character of the rendering - most obvious, of course, when doing portraits of persons, obvious too when doing portraits of such as dogs and cats and horses, and even, tho lesser noted, obvious when doing birds and reptiles... but note, while it is almost a given that character is found in portraits of humans, and their familiar pets, what is described as character of the other animals is more what is imparted by the artist to the given subjects - and that this is also seen when NON-living subjects are rendered, as in sports vehicles... most often, tho, this sense of valuing is not a conscious choosing by the artist, but a reflection of that inner sense of life which in effect flows outward from the fundamental premises the artist holds... if the renderer would take the time to note this, then perhaps an improvement in the composition might be seen above what has been done or intended to be done - and thus again elevating a work into a more grand and finer art than otherwise, would it not? or no...

This is but one of the reasons for thinking in terms of theming, as theming involves utilizing and/or bringing out more forcefully the 'character' involved in the subjects chosen for the works, and when more than one subject is involved, a means of co-ordinating these characters to harmony, even as their separate ones remain true to themselves...

Consider, for instance, this rendering of a lizard on a post - "Overseer" - and the impact of its angle of appearance, to say nothing of the metaphoric implications both of the theme/title itself, and the social connotations associated historically and culturally... an animal rendering, yes - but not as a study, a difference oft overlooked yet one good to consider whenever animals or other subjects non-human chance worth the rendering...


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