Thursday, July 10, 2008

Metroheads - The guy with the two glasses and the one with soft hair


The guy with the two glasses, one on his head and one on his nose - A Latin American gentlement (I hear him speak Spanish on the cellphone) reading his newspaper. He sits directly in front of me, it is very rare that I sketch people from such a close range, and I think I make it depend on the kind of AURA which is around people. Here I feel such a calm being, poised and concentrated, I guess he knows what I am doing but he tolerates it in a happy way. I love his attitude. I can study him without being a voyeur. I observe and he lets himself be observed. He is giving me something precious here.

The man with the oh so soft looking hair - I experimented some other technique, I added the hair in photoshop, after heaving watercoloured the person. I'm not so fond of it, it is not a technique I'll use, I prefer sticking to my watercolours. Interesting, though. The man's shirt originally was black and silvergrey but I saw it lemongreen:)

Have a wonderful day!

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21 comments:

Andrea and Kim said...

Andrea! These are fantastic, as always.

I love the way you were able to feel the aura around this Spanish man knowing it was positive to sketch him with him knowing it. I am sure you were able to get things you would otherwise not be able to get from observing from a distance (of course there are things you can get from observing from a distance you can't get from close up, too). I am thinking the details and the softness in his face...of course the angle is wonderful.

And the guy with the soft hair...I like her, but it is wonderful you have experimented with this and know what works for you. I am also thinking the change in the shirt color makes a huge difference. The dark skin really shines with this lemony yellow shirt!

Thanks Andrea! Great work!

Cris, Artist in Oregon said...

You captured the Spanish guy wonderfully and I see a hint of knowledge in his face of you drawing him too.
The other drawing is wonderful too. Nice to experiment that is what Art is all about actually. Experimenting to come up with something unique and different.

Lynn Cohen said...

You do these all so well, Andrea. Do you ever wonder to ask people if they'd like to buy the portraits you make of them?
I think you could get rich doing this. You seem to capture so much of each person (front or back view) so quickly. I have no idea how long it takes to add the color once you get home...but you might think of handing out cards and examples of what you do and they could call you if they want the finished painting.
I am such the business woman! ;-)

sukipoet said...

I love the story about the man in number one. that he gave you a gift of letting you draw him. It is funny though. I think if I noticed someone drawing me, I'd ask to see it.

The yellow jacket is colorful. I agree with Cris, good to experiement as with the photoshop. That way you know just what you can do and can't do with any medium.

Thanks again for sharing your talent and eye with us. Be well, Suki

M1 said...

Je trouve ces deux illustration géniales! ça fait un peu BD et j'adore! d'ailleurs, pourquoi pas une BD! ;)
Tu peux nous faire Ugly Betty au métro? :)

Chris Bolmeier said...

It seems that people generally feel self conscious to have me sketching them, but you inspire me to try it. I would probably be safer at a coffee shop at a great distance.
Do you face your Metroheads, because if I were on a bus I would be behind them. Your illustrative sketches are lovely.

Anonymous said...

Andrea i love it that you can see black things lemongreen. Can you do this with days also?
If so, please tell me how.
Have a lemongreen week.

Corryna said...

Andrea your portraits get better each time you draw another one. I like these. They have character!

Corryna

Unknown said...

Kim, thanks so much for your comment, yes you are right, I was, for example, spending a lot of time on this guys hair and the light reflection in the glasses, things I wouldn't have seen from far away. Normaly they are sitting diagonally from me, three steps or so farer away:)
love
Andrea

Unknown said...

Cris, you are so right, experimenting, that is what it is all about. Experiment with sight, light, paper, colour, and people, I love it. Just don't think about the outcome:) Thanks for you nice comments always,
love Andrea

Unknown said...

Lyyn Hi yes you are such a business women:) Peter the photographer suggested this too, but I think I'm too shy to give people my card, also thinking that people don't like these "quick" portraits, they want perfect things, pictures that look like them how they imagine themselves and not how I approximately draw them. And often it is so crowded and there's no time, before you know it, the guy is gone:)

Unknown said...

Suki, I haven't thought about that, would I like to see the drawing if someone did a drawing of me? I don't know:) Perhaps I'd just let it go by as a magic moment, with the secret which will never be revealed...
thanks for your comments, always so lovely

Unknown said...

M1: Enchantée que tu aimes mes illustrations:) L'effet BD, c'est les moyens utilisé, stylo noir d'encre, créent des lignes principalement...
Tu aura toujours autant de travail pour la pauvre secrétaire:)Mais qui est Ugly Betty?:)

Unknown said...

Chris: yes I face them, cause the seats are in both directions, I chose a seat, (if I can, if it's not too crowded) where I can sketch someone two seat away, facing me, not being near enough to see what I'm doing. Mostly people do not see me, they are too caught in their thoughts or by a book, or by the fact that there are so many people in there...
So, it is an ideal place to sketch people without making them feel selfcounscious, as you say, cause that would show on their faces...
thanks for your great comment,
love
Andrea

Unknown said...

Martin:) today the day is quite orange:)
thanks for your always whimsical comments, I love them

Unknown said...

Corryna, thanks so much for this wonderful compliment, I love if I can bring something to you with these portraits, cause I'm so fascinated by them but was thinking the other day, that perhaps I'm boring people if I go on like that:)

M1 said...

Ugly Betty? Verliebt in Berlin.. Le Destin de Lisa :)
Ouii! J'ai plein de commandes pour la secrétaire!! Mais une BD à la Corto Maltese avec une Miss Doodle en personnage sombre ce seraitpas mal :)

Unknown said...

M1: Ah d'accord, cette ugly Betty qui, quand on fait abstraction des "braces" n'est point ugly du tout:)
Merci de m'avoir expliqué de qui il s'agit..
J'adooooore Corto Maltèse, et j'admire Pratt pour ses dessins! C'est ma BD préférée, j'adore la manière dont il joue avec la lumiere et les ombres,, le noir et le blanc, c'est une musicien du dessin:)

M1 said...

Moi aussi j'admire Pratt, Et sa fille est une amie bloggeuse ;)

Unknown said...

M1: Oh làlà, quelle chance tu as, c'est vrai? Elle dessine aussi, sa fille? Je suis curieuse, je sais, mais, elle s'apelle Pratt aussi?

Anonymous said...

the colours green and yellow and the black skin are wonderful, the fabric looks (dictionary) 'filmy' (vaporeux) some people do dress to take the metro ;o) If you see a woman with green apple paint stains on the hands, it's me ;o)