Roger Fry's self portrait came to mind the moment I started wondering about this project. I first saw this painting as a postcard in the National Gallery in London and bought a copy of the picture.
Roughed up a bit, this chap could suffice for a forties detective I think, and the pallet is
just the thing - muted tones with yellow and greens. I fished this postcard out of my archives.
The suit could consist of a collage in
pinstripes, dull tones and maybe some of my moodboard reference material. Might draw and paint his face in flat subdued tones. This is a great starting point for me. I have picked a head and shoulder shot and omitted a background completely. I love to convey character traits through features and the intensity and expression they convey.
If this were a movie the main character would be: intense. And angry, though because he has the profile of a detective, he'd hide his angry energy behind a conservative facade. A detective needs to be many things in order to succeed - brave, sly, angry, charming, powerful, cunning and manipulative. He'd be in his fifties, with facial lines crumpled into a frown. Attractive in a brooding type of way. Greying temples, dark hair, tall.
The clothes he'd wear would: fit into the 1940's era. A brown pinstripe suit, just dull enough to earn respect, combination white shirt and dark tie, breeches, a raincoat in heavy fabric with enough weight to absorb cigarette smoke and whisky odours. And a hat.
What furniture is in the main area where the action takes place: very little. Actually the empty space says more in the narrative than the furniture does and so does the description of the detective. Not too much stuff, just a desk maybe, with some yellowed folders and a dustbin.
Searched for middle aged men in the 1940's and sifted through portraits and attitudes that are conveyed in the features. I originally thought a portly, imposing type of character would suffice. Now I realise that a taller, thinner man would suit the narrative better. It's not so much what he looks like, rather the anger on his face that speaks volumesn. Someone tough and uncompromising with a solid moral compass and a fair humanitarian streak. Found comedian Fred Allen – if I lost the contrived facial expression, it would be closer to the detective look that I wanted.
Am sketching different men's faces in pen to understand the mood of the character then choose one that stands out and matches my brainstorm session.
"Year by year the anger had burst deeper until it was now the innermost principle of the man" - The Daffodil Affair.
The brief asks for a simple portrait (head and shouldes) and allows for
texture and colour. I copied Fred Allen's face freehand, altering the
face slightly to get a 'serious as cancer' face. I am going
to draw in fineliner and collage certain aspects of the portrait. I feel
that the mood can be conveyed through dull texture and colours. I am
still convinced that Roger Fry's pallet is the one I will use but I'm
going to incorporate all my mood board textures and use these papers in
the head and shoulder portrait in collage.
Will work with this photograph of Fred Allen © www.tvrage.com as the base of the book cover detective and I'll pop a Fedora onto his head. The Fedora is completely appropriate for New Scotland yard. Might include a cigarette. Perfect era.
Pictures below are from www.cartoonsnap.blogspot.com
The Fedora hat is absolutely imperative to my portrait because it's a periodic reference for style and fashion and visually striking. Found these wonderful resources for accurately rendering the hat and its proportions on the head. So I have used these to angle the hat and fit it properly.
The word I chose for my moodboard is BROWN. I did a spider diagram, then my moodboard took shape from that.
Spider diagram here.
My moodboard is quite selective this time having experienced some difficulty previously with too much information and exasperation at having to choose. I found the questions and notes in the excercise helpful with the specifics.
I
From the start I set out to use only selections from the moodboard. I drew the face in fineliner because I felt it to be the most descriptive medium for the intensity of things like the frown lines and the intense stare. The background is the brown pinstripe from my moodboard which printed oddly because my printer was out of ink. I used it like that because it has more texture. The tie is the black colour referenced from my moodboard. The coat is the sample of tweed from my moodboard and I cut jagged pieces and stuck them at angles to each other to created tension in what could be quite a uniform pattern.
The Fedora hat is collaged in paper from a famous brand of matches. Actually this paper was part of my moodboard but I unstuck it and used it because I ran out. I used it as a focal point and a metaphor for the detective's motivation and attitude. A lion is a skilled hunter and lies in wait for its prey. I thought a black hat would be too cliched. I think the yellow works and referenced this from the pallette used in Roger Fry's self portrait.
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