While my drawings look realistic they are about something other than copying reality - they're about form, texture, and proportions. Pretty standard stuff in art lingo, but I guess the difference comes down to the execution. Art should capture some sort of essence that appeals to the eye of the viewer and pulls them in. The best way I've heard it described is that if you were walking by the work would you stop and take a closer look. I'll leave it up to you to decide whether what I do would fit that criteria.
The textures I draw contribute a lot to the realistic feel of the work. As I render them I try to think about the material and how its surface reflects its nature. In these drawings metal is the obvious thing that I'm thinking about, but therein lies the challenge - How does one differentiate between all that similar material? The subject helps with that, as there are many different surfaces that span the range of wear and tear and carry with them the marks of how they were made. This hits on some of that "essence" I mentioned.
The form and proportions work on another level than the textures. If you squint at the drawing and force the surface treatments to blur, the compositional elements should jump out as you get past the "reality" of the textures. Some artists strive to highlight form to the point of abstraction, where the textures are completely avoided. I like the added depth they bring to the works and so I go the other way and highlight them.
Here's a couple more pictures in the progression of the first drawing. I hope you can see some of what I commented starting to happen in the piece as it gets closer to completion.
Thanks for dropping by!!
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