Louise Brooks Revisited

This colored pencil drawing ‘Louise Brooks – 04-11-25’ pays homage to a cinematic icon whose beauty and presence transcend time. Her features keep on enchanting me. They almost look like chiseled, the likes of which you long to see in a styled art deco statue. Perhaps she represents what I’m striving for: to create timeless art. Basically, I considered myself not to be fashionable at all. Never was, never will be. Always headstrong and I always knew what I wanted to pursue with my own art. Hence my reluctance to have social criticism appear in my artworks because it is so time-bound. Well, once in a while but then subtlely processed and not to the detriment of a sound composition. Therefor I hope in the long run my art will not be considered old fashioned just as LB won’t.

Color versus Tonality

Louise and I go back a long time together. The first time I drew her was back in 2014. Already in my hatched strokes style. The one before my last one was executed in color. Since my last colored pencil drawing was ‘De Smorenhoek – 15-12-24’ I thought I’d do another one. At least to keep my pencil techniques in color in good shapes. Many see color as mere pigments. Yet something stirs in the shadows: something literal, something alive. That is the realm of tonality. Even people like Johannes Itten reitterates the phrase ‘color tones’ and all that jazz. Colours are nice but always will be an extra on top of tonal values. For years now I teach my students to distinguish color from tones. Well, you don’t have to believe me. The tones speak for themselves. At least I hope did a good job. Your’s to decide.

Colored pencil drawing on Talens Colored paper (21 x 29.7 x 0.1 cm – A4 format)

Artist: Corné Akkers