Audrey Tautou

This graphite pencil drawing ‘Sans Titre – 06-08-15’ features french actress and celebrity Audrey Tautou. It was a month ago since I made ‘Sans Titre – 09-07-15 (sold)’, featuring Sari Maritza. I quite like that one because I have the feeling I really stuck out my nek and tried. It’s something new with regard to abstraction in portraits. That’s why I set out to do Ms Tautou in a similar way. It didn’t become that abstracted but I still am satisfied though. It’s the fate of an artist. You never know what you are going to get. An initial plan can alter quickly enough because a painting motif holds other things in store.

The Eyes

Personally I think the frontal view on the face lends itself less for abstractions than a side view. That’s due to the eyes. What struck me is that great artists, for example Isaac Israëls, always took great care to work out eyes. Otherwise they don’t look vivid enough, I guess. Audrey has such beautiful eyes that it would be a crime not to capture her glance fully.

Poutiness

Nonetheless I was able to abstract light and dark planes in the face. I let them all run in the same diagonal direction so her glance would even be more piercing. In fact I am quite suprized by how the planes vary in light and darkness so regularly. They create great rhythym on paper. Luckily they are girded by the blackness of the hair and background. Those set off those facial planes and bring them forward quite nicely. A final confession of mine: I am in love with her pouty lips. So I took extra good care of depicting them in a most suiting way. They remind me of my former french girlfriend Marie.

Click here to read about the sale of a print through pictorem.com.

Graphite pencil drawing (Pentel 0.5 mm, 3B) on Canson Bristol paper (21 x 29.7 x 0.1 cm) – A4 format)

Artist: Corné Akkers

Sales info: info@corneakkers.com