This image, Girl and Hercules Beetle, is by the artist Barnaby Ward aka, Somefield. He often makes drawings of girls with varying animals in the compositions. Some of his work is very intricate and detailed, while I tend to be more attracted to his simpler compositions, like this one. There is little variation in line weight, yet still heavy contrasting light and dark areas; which helps the image not feel too empty. The color is limited to the girls eyeliner and her scarf. This almost makes the scarf the focal point of the image. But the placement of the beetle, with its horn protruding so far away from her hunched position, creates a more general interesting form. So even though the scarf is the brightest thing you see, your eyes have multiple things to be entertained by. There is no tonal volume in the drawing, and there are also no areas of white. The pale yellow backdrop makes this image kind of serene and soft, it is one of my favorite colors as well. I also admire the rough texture of the beetle and her shoes. The image, though completely flat and stylized, does communicate some sense of dimension because of his careful usage of color and texture. It's so simple, and so nice.
Check out http://www.somefield.com/ for more of his work.
This is incredibly attention grabbing. Really nice use of color and line work.
ReplyDeleteThere's something about pieces with selective use of color that I find to be incredibly engaging. I suppose that when it's done well, you know that the artist picked only to put color where it was important, rather than making it overwhelming. I really like how deliberate this piece feels.
ReplyDeleteI love the intensity in the face of the girl. Its like she is staring right at me.But I think what also catches me is the black beetle. I think beetles are pretty intriguing bugs, and the way it was drawn with such detail, and that hard, dark black only makes the beetle that much cooler.
ReplyDeleteI find this odd and interesting at the same time. I makes me wonder why this girl is holding a giant beetle. I don't like bugs and this image would normally creep me out. But, it dosen't because of the color and I find that interesting as well. I admire artists who know just the places to put color without have it in the entire picture. The cream back drop is a nice subtle touch. I really like the girls face, especially her eyes with the liner.
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