Artist's Statement
My creative work includes both drawing and photography, which have become directly intertwined over the years. I constantly look to immerse myself in nature, as I specifically find the beach to be healing and grounding, a place of rest and reset, to clear my head when life becomes overwhelming.
Over the years, I have spent a great deal of time on the shorelines closest to my home in Long Island, studying and taking photos of the ocean’s movements, cloud formations and the effects of sunlight on these two natural aesthetics. I am fascinated by the way light shifts from midafternoon, to golden hour, sunset and blue hour and how a landscape can inherently change under different lighting conditions. I also explore these settings during different seasons, capturing the way colorful leaves, blooming flowers or snow can vastly change landscapes and seascapes. Additionally, I am interested in photographing celestial events, including the full moon, the milky way and meteor shows. When editing my digital images, I strive to keep them as natural looking as possible by simply straightening the horizon and sharpening the image. My goal is to capture a moment of serenity, allowing myself and the viewer to take a therapeutic breath.
My photographs become direct references for large scale charcoal drawings ranging between two to eight feet in height and width. My goal once again is to preserve the moment in time; however the drawings are never exact replicas of the photo. Instead, the drawing I create becomes a transformation of my present mood, as well as a blurry representation of the memory in my mind. I am drawn to the monochromatic palette, often working only solely in black and white or one color with grayscale values. The chosen palette gives my drawings a feeling of timelessness, like old black and white photos, that in turn enhances my idea to preserve bits and pieces of my memories. Using charcoal allows me to easily generate a large range in grayscale values, as well as a variety of different textures depending upon the type of charcoal that I use. I often exaggerate the contrast of lights and darks in my drawings, creating the intense dark areas along side soft, bright lights. The variation and intensity of the values alter the mood of each piece, in most cases stirring a feeling of nostalgia that cannot be accomplished with bright, natural colors.
My drawing process is very methodical and in essence contains a beginning, middle and ending. There are specific steps I take to create my work that if altered, I feel would vastly impact the final product.
All of my drawings are completed on non-textured white vellum that is torn off a roll approximately five feet wide. Tearing the paper off the roll and adhering it to the wall is a battle in and of itself considering the large-scale of my drawings. Once it’s torn off the roll, I pin the paper directly onto a wall and continue tearing the edges so that the shape of the paper becomes more organic, mimicking the movement and ability of the ocean.
Before I begin sketching in my image, I start to prep the paper, using a chamois and powdered charcoal to create a gray surface. I then use compressed charcoal to sketch in some of the darker shapes I see in the image. I layer vine charcoal on top of the compressed charcoal and use my hands to blend the materials, creating a smooth, malleable surface. Once this process is complete, the paper is covered in a variety of values ranging from medium gray to black. Next, I use a white, retractable eraser to draw in the basic shapes of my image. I switch back and forth between that eraser and a kneaded eraser, using the tools to pull lighter values out of the darker areas. I continue working in this way, adding more dark areas with the charcoal and erasing out the lights. If I choose to add color to my drawing, I will alternate between the charcoal and chalk pastels, typically continuing to use an eraser to add the highlights instead of white chalk.
Overall, my drawing process is a long evolution of layers, involving applying, blending, manipulating and erasing the medium until the entire drawing comes together in a realistically executed expansion based on the original photograph and my memory.
Photo by Vincent Alongi