Behind the Page: Thick Layers of Human Figure
Exploring the tactile sensation of impasto technique and raw guidelines on the sketchbook page.
Painting the human figure is always deeply intertwined with patience and observation. For me, a portrait is not merely about achieving a perfect anatomical replication; it is an intimate exploration of presence, captured through the physical and heavy weight of the oil medium applied onto the intimate surface of a sketchbook.
While oil paint is traditionally paired with canvas, I find a unique tension in bringing this heavy, slow-drying medium onto paper. In my recent studio practices, I have been captivated by the dual nature of the sketchbook page. On one hand, there is the heavy, tactile impasto technique—using thick, deliberate strokes of oil to build up the mass of a face, the depth of hair, or the intensity of a gaze. On the other hand, there are the exposed raw pencil lines, structural grids, and unfinished white margins that I intentionally leave untouched.
Unlike fast-drying mediums, oil demands time. It forces the layers to sit, breathe, and sink into the paper. By juxtaposing heavily textured oil layers against bare sketches and geometric guidelines within my sketchbook, I want to reveal the process of creation itself.
The human essence isn't static; it is composed of multiple layers—some heavily defined, and others left completely raw, shifting between what is finished and what is still to be dreamed on a blank page.