Charcoal Drawing Portfolio

Drawing using charcoal as the medium was a skill that I developed early on in my artistic career. I specialize in realistic charcoal portraiture, but also enjoy drawing other subjects such as landscapes. My personal charcoal work surrounds representing concepts of human identity.

David Bowie

This drawing was created for a poster design project that was meant to commemorate the life of the music legend, David Bowie. His passing was devastating to many which ultimately inspired my professor to assign us this task. I chose to draw Bowie as I felt confident I could realistically represent the memory of his face by using charcoal— a familiar medium that I am comfortable with. Following its completion, I was honored to auction the original drawing off at the David Bowie Tribute Concert held at Canalside in Downtown Buffalo.

“Silence”

This piece was a part of the series below “What’s Your Alter Ego?” The concept of the piece revolves around being forced to be silent. Within the series, its context was meant to display a personality trait that is opposite from the traits of the actual model that was drawn. The piece can take on a different context for each viewer through its obvious depiction of a person who is struggling to speak due to another force that is holding them back. The piece came in 1st Place in two local art shows in Buffalo. As a result of winning the Congressional Art Show, the piece was then hung in the United States Capitol Building in D.C. along with work from winners from each district across the country.

What’s Your Alter Ego?

In the series, “What’s Your Alter Ego?,” I asked the models drawn to each share a personality trait with me. From there, I reversed the meaning of this trait and allowed them to pose displaying an alternate version of themselves. Each piece is meant to spark an emotional response from the viewer by visually representing raw feelings and actions. The series as a whole presents the viewer with the ability to think about these traits and actions which in turn will allow them to reflect on themselves. Pieces 1-3 represents a single figure displaying their alter ego trait. Pieces 4 & 5 show the same model twice that are each exhibiting opposite behaviors in order to further push the concept. Pieces 6-10 use two different models because the traits being demonstrated deal with interactions that are had with other people. Piece 11, “Who Are You?,” was created and placed in the center of the rest at the live showing in order to enhance the idea of personal reflection for the viewer.

Other Charcoal Work

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