Portrait in Pencils

Mark Gil · 02-04-2002, 10:43 PM

This is a 16x20 portrait of "The Musician".
Doing Portraits in pencils was my first love. I drew nearly fifty pencil portraits before my first oil. I really love the drama of black and white. Your comments welcomed.
Thanks, Mark Gil

Margaret Elvin · 02-10-2002, 06:16 PM

Mark,
I like your convincing rendering of this man and also the idea of him. Not many people still play accordian, so he's kind of intriguing, yet he didn't engage me as much as I think he could have. I'm not sure exactly why, but it could be that his face has to compete too much with the strong elements of the hat and accordian. The accordian feels so dark and heavy and draws my eyes away from his face. I wondered if a close-up of his face, maybe with part of the accordian nearer to it would work? He does have an interesting face. I also thought side lighting instead of frontal lighting could be more compelling.

I was wondering about the grayish/brown tone of the paper in this portrait. Is it intentional or did the copying process change it from white? I noticed my digital camera translates a white sheet of paper into gray. I had to do a lot of fiddling to eliminate this effect. Overall I thought the muddy tone of the paper detracted from your drawing. Also the dark areas look more like charcoal than pencil, also a digital or copying effect?
-Margaret

Mark Gil · 02-11-2002, 11:31 PM

I apologize for the quality of this photo. This portrait was done in 1988. The photograph of the work has been in and out of my portfolio many times. The portrait was done on what is called "onion paper". His family suggested it. It was the first and the last time I ever used it.

The emphasis on the accordian was intentional. His family claimed that he was the first cajun french musician to tour the east coast. There are still many musicians in south Louisiana who play the accordian. Tomorrow is Mardi Gras, and 90% of the music downtown will include the accordian.

I agree with the side light for the man, but it would not have worked well over all, considering the emphasis on the accordian. The range of pencils were from 2H - 6B, I never use charcoal and pencil in the same work, in fact, I never use charcoal at all. I have much more control with pencils.

Thanks,
Mark Gil