International Artist – August-September 2019

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COLORED

PENCIL

M

y black-and-white narrative

portraits help expose those dark

and sometimes destructive emotional

truths that may plaque my subjects. Each

subject is a compelling visual portrayal

of the human spirit, determination

and courage. Working on drafting

film allows me to capture these hidden

emotions while creating the depth,

texture and transparency in my subject’s

features. I strive to show the viewer that

while at first glance my subjects seem

serene and normal, they show a sense of

inner frailty. This inner frailty is what

I strive to capture while documenting

my subjects dealing privately with their

own personal mental illnesses.

About My Process

Working with a limited palette allows

me to concentrate on the form, values

and shadows. Color, or lack of it, alone

possesses emotion without the need

to tell a story. Drawing with a limited

palette helps me put things into a new

perspective or literally puts specific

aspects of life into focus. Color can be

very lifelike but also very distracting.

I also do this for dramatic purposes, to

capture a mood in a moment. I want

the viewer to take a step closer to each

drawing to realize that not only does

the composition of the subjects create

a mood, but so do the textures in the

background and foreground. It also

allows me to concentrate on the forms,

values and shadows instead of just

concentrating on accuracy of facial colors.

Creating the Concept

I begin my colored pencil portraits with

a story, poem, phrase or just a word.

This is followed by weeks of concept

generating—formulating an idea that

will turn into a visual narrative. My

visual narrative may even be supported

by generating an inspirational mood

board, showing lighting, color and

textures. Is there a story or emotion

from life I want to communicate? After

a mood board is created sketches are

formulated. I usually make a range of

10 to 15 pencil sketches using a stand-

in model to test poses and concepts.

From this, I select approximately five

concepts to move forward with.

I search for my model that I feel will

fill the story. Once a model is selected, I

then will present a brief or mood board

and explain the purpose of the shoot,

and what the model can bring to the

story and envision for the photo session.

I have learned through experience

this is also a good way to find out what

the model is like to work with since

you’ll be working in close proximity

and in some cases for several hours.

Next step is to book a studio time or

find a location for the shoot.

Narrative Portraits

Using a “drawing by subtraction” technique, Tracy Frein

creates black-and-white portraits wrought with emotion

Trac y Frein

UNITED STATES

DEMONSTRATION

Teenage Angst, colored pencil on

Grafix® Drafting Film, 14 x 18" (35½ x 46 cm)

It happens to all of us at one point or another: for

some reason, a photoshoot just doesn’t go as we

hoped it would and problems arise. As an artist

we are problem solvers. I strive to push myself

creatively and passionately for each project. One

shoot in particular I could see within the first

30 minutes my poses were falling flat. I decided

scramble, giving direction to my subject to adlib

with her hands. It took several shots to realize this

was going to make a beautiful drawing.