Editorial Portrait

Hey Guys,

So I whipped up this sexy painting the other day…

just kidding, more like fall of 2006. Anyway, I didn’t do Mike’s project, because I’m a designer and I need to be worrying about refining my typography instead of editorial portraits. Mike why did you invite me to this illustrator club? I probably won’t be doing these projects, but I will definitely be keeping myself creatively busy this summer—my internship is five days a week, and I want to do some design projects on my own, so I’ll hopefully post things regularly.

Okay, back to the portrait…Rachel told me that I actually already completed the assignment (sort of, the person is obviously not famous) and convinced me to post this, so here it is. This is a portrait of Emma Cohen, who in everyday life can come off as prim and prudish. (But she relishes this mask; I’m not criticizing her, haha) Considering this, it is certainly ironic that I depicted her in the context of her bedroom, half nude, in this pose. She’s very scholarly and well read, and I think the original idea for the piece had something to do with the content of her books entering the background, (the letterforms) and parts of her are clearly rendered while others dissipate and become apart of the textured atmosphere. Rachel reminded me that Emma is doing her thesis on desire and sexuality in the classroom, so there might be a link there as well. The piece is done in pastel and acrylic on arches paper, 42inches by 75 inches. Critique as you like.

Also, Mike C—Rachel told me that you did a neat illustration of some cityscape/map thing in Illustrator. I’d love to see it; can you please send me a pdf or something?

Thanks,
Ryan