Artist: Brenda Levasseur
Location: Massachusetts
Title: The Window’s to Our Soul
Dimensions: 33″x23″
Medium: Charcoal on Stonehedge paper
Comments From the Artist: I have been drawing since age 11. Mostly self taught from books, in 1982 , went to a night art class with Joseph Souza for about 6 months, sold a few portrait pictures then didn’t draw for about 21 yrs..I took an oil class with Susan Cabral in South Dartmouth in 2003, she asked me to do one of her commissions in charcoal and haven’t gone back to oil. This charcoal was done in 2007… I used compressed charcoal rubbed on paper and transferred with a tortillion. I put on dark and lift to light, blending with stump ..
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Shirley on Fri, 7th Nov 2008 4:07 pm
This is a amazing piece. I love how you handled the imperfections of the skin. Well done.
Ingrid on Fri, 7th Nov 2008 4:25 pm
Hi Brenda,
You have created an exceptional piece with “The Windows to Our Soul”! The expression in the eyes is very well done with the farthest eye being in the shadow. This adds to the drama and mystery of your drawing.
The process you have used is one of my very favorites! One has much control lifting out those lights, mid tones, and highlights. The details that can be captured are amazing!
The only comment I want to make is that the value on the cheek is the same as it is on the nose, thus making the cheek seem puffy or swollen. Maybe push the value of the cheek back just a tiny bit (right next to the nose) so that the cheek recedes and the nose comes forward. I think that this would also help with the area above with the bridge of the nose. It seems just a bit too wide and pushing the value back a bit would correct this. This corner where the eye is adjacent to the nose sits far back into the head.
I believe it was Picasso who stated that “You have to tell a lie in art in order to tell the truth.” What you see you can not always draw or paint…you must make adjustments for it to look believable. This is where KNOWING vs. SEEING comes in to play!
CONGRATULATIONS on a job well done!
Happy drawing!
Ingrid
Angie on Fri, 7th Nov 2008 4:27 pm
When I grow up, I want to “charcoal” like you!!!
ragarm on Fri, 7th Nov 2008 4:48 pm
Absolutely gorgeous.
Gill on Fri, 7th Nov 2008 5:06 pm
Wow, Brenda…this is absolutely FANTASTIC!! You are amazingly talented. It is so refreshing to see such good art work. I love details and particularly enjoy portraits. I have to say it is not often one finds a really good artist and alot of the artwork around is just not up to standard. You are a brilliant artist and you should be very proud…well done.
carolyn Bishop on Fri, 7th Nov 2008 5:21 pm
Such expression! Just beautiful!
Jayne Cummins on Fri, 7th Nov 2008 6:57 pm
Absolutely incredible – better than a photo – you have captured everything.
Jayne
Valerie Sasaki on Fri, 7th Nov 2008 8:47 pm
Absolutely beautiful!!
Francisco Salvado on Fri, 7th Nov 2008 9:11 pm
That look! The detail, the expression, the emotion of those eyes! That’s all…extraordinary. I have seen many drawings but this one…Well , excellent, keep working.
farzana on Fri, 7th Nov 2008 10:51 pm
beautiful and ammmazing artwork!!! It does look like window to a soul… What emotions and details – you are very very gifted. Keep up the good work and spread the joy through your work. Don’t have enough words to express how i felt when i saw your drawing – absolutely amazing….
June Smith on Fri, 7th Nov 2008 11:41 pm
The eyes are so lifelike — I almost expect a tear
Wonderful work
Thanks for sharing your work — I love it
June
MARIE LINNUS on Sat, 8th Nov 2008 12:42 am
ABSOLUTELY REMARKABLE…
Michael on Sat, 8th Nov 2008 1:31 am
Hi Brenda, I had to look at your work really close. I thought I was looking at a photograph. This is an amazing piece. Thanks for sharing it.
Susan on Sat, 8th Nov 2008 2:36 am
Wonderful. I love working with charcoal and pencil. Your detail is fabulous. Have you tried the new Graphtint charcoals from derwent yet?
Bernie Rosage jr. on Sat, 8th Nov 2008 4:00 am
Stunning!
Wish I could say more but I’m speechless… Bravo!
Sana Almimar on Sat, 8th Nov 2008 12:12 pm
Absolutely unbelievable , you are really talented ,can i have your email address to ask you some questions ?
This looks as a real photograph
God bless you
Christy McGuire on Sat, 8th Nov 2008 1:30 pm
I think this is the best I have ever seen…Fantastic!
bren on Sun, 9th Nov 2008 2:50 am
Thanks so much for all your great comments and Ingrid you have a great eye..the space between the eye’s, is too great but didn’t want to ruin the picture so I left it..the man who bought this picture has passed away and the family has donated it back to the Newport Art Museum where I won best of show this past February. It will soon be hanging in the art museum…never thought that would ever happen to me….check out my other stuff on my blogspot…thanks bren
Dorothy on Sun, 9th Nov 2008 8:44 am
I love your work fantastic,i tryed charcole for the first time only last week,to help loosen my style loved the challenge .though not the outcome.
Ingrid on Sun, 9th Nov 2008 4:05 pm
Hi Bren,
CONGRATULATIONS to YOU! What an honor! This is a wonderful work of art that will live forever!
It is funny that I can SEE things in other people’s work, but in mine???????? It is always that way I think because we are too close to our work. Having FRESH EYES look at our work always helps. But here are a couple of tips you can use in the studio to give you those FRESH EYES: Look at your work in a mirror. By doing this, the image is reversed and there is a distance between you and your work which allows you to see differently. Another one is to look at your work UPSIDE DOWN! This also forces you to look differently at your work, discovering those subtleties that you may have overlooked while working on the painting or drawing. And a last tip is to use a reducing glass which helps to see your work smaller. Sometimes things will POP out that you did not see before!
I will check out your other work! Keep practicing, keep drawing!
All the BEST,
Ingrid
Soroya on Sun, 9th Nov 2008 4:12 pm
All I have to say is this piece is amazing and it really gives me encouragement! Thank You
Soroya’s last blog post..TO ALL MY SUPER WOMEN SISTERS AND FRIENDS
Julie Blight on Mon, 10th Nov 2008 1:31 am
Hi Brenda, Absolutally brilliant work.
bren on Mon, 10th Nov 2008 10:57 am
Yes….I do that too..I draw in my dining room for the lack of natural light in my house and when I put a drawing on the easel I can’t seem to go by it without seeing something to pick at although I have had Janice on the easel since march and can’t seem to get my art brain moving..it is in my handmade soap brain right now….My husband had said 2 weeks before I finished this drawing..your done don’t touch it anymore..I just kept seeing more things to adjust but had to finally stop , you can only work charcoal so much…and I have a overworked a few…thanks bren
bren’s last blog post..
Shyam on Tue, 11th Nov 2008 9:40 am
Hi Brenda,
When we do not find words to express, we simply say “Wow”
Shyam
James on Thu, 13th Nov 2008 12:35 am
I’m a little slow to respond…but like the others I say WOW!. And with my new “seeing” that Ingrid has taught me, I try to critique before I read her comments and see if I get it right. I too spend much time studying (looking) at what I’m currently working on and I am learning when to keep going, when to stop, and when to give up.
Congrats! on your award Bren, and I look forward to seeing more of your great art.
Artville on Thu, 27th Nov 2008 7:15 am
Astonishing! I find it hard to believe this realism was achieved with charcoal. You must do a video so that we can see how it’s done