Drawing for mugshot
Process of drawing and painting
Another mugshot completed but I’m getting slower. The drawing took 20 minutes with the overall completed image taking an hour. I messed up her chin by making the lines too hard. I’ve tried to soften the hard line with more ink washes and chalk. I haven’t put in a background yet as I’ve left all my large brushes in uni and I’m making the mugshots in my studio at home.
Detail of Jean [ink and chalk on paper]
Jean [ink and chalk on paper]
Back to uni tomorrow to continue painting my nurse.
Pencil drawing on paper
It took me less than 15 minutes to make a drawing on the paper. For me the pencil marks are the ‘bones’ on which to lay the ink on. I didn’t want to make a drawing using the ink with no guide as I think it would be a big failure. My tutor would now tell me my next mugshot portrait should be made with the ink going straight onto the paper! Fifteen minutes is good for me because as I’ve said before I normally spend a long time drawing an image. I felt a bit tense when making this drawing because I was clock watching. I had allowed myself an hour at the most to complete the portrait but finished in 50 minutes. I’m putting these time restriction on myself to keep the portraits fluid.
Vera Crichton mugshot on paper in ink and chalk
I think the way I was feeling does reflect in the marks on the paper. This has made me think that a portrait is not only a reflection of the sitter but also the artist. These portraits are about looking deep inside these woman to reveal their hidden emotions, their vulnerability, their anger and pain. I don’t want this work to be comfortable viewing. When I’ve made several portraits I could book the white space at university and display them altogether to photograph or film to see how the drawings work as a group.
Woke up with another idea. It was there all the time. I’ve seen and studied this picture ages ago which could be a reason why the mugshots interest me. I should explain.
M-G-M Studios, test photographs (1938) George Hommel, studio photographer
These photographs taken for The Wizard of Oz are test shots for hair, makeup and wardrobe, but of course they are mugshots. Well, as we know Dorothy did kill the first person she meets before teaming up with three strangers only to then kill again. Maybe I should make a visual physiological profile of this psychopathic murderer. This is a big project. I need to remain focused on the 1920s mugshots and uncanny nurses as this is where I am now. Perhaps Dorothy with her psychopathic personality should be my degree project. I need to discuss this with my tutor. I think it would be good to start writing a journal with thoughts, ideas and images of Dorothy so I don’t lose this train of thought.
I’ve been looking at the work of Marlene Dumas. Her paintings have a dark, uneasy feel about them. She captures the fragility of the person she is painting but also reveals a disturbing and unnerving aspect to their personality. For me, her work strips away the layers of deception we all hide under and exposes the true personality.
Marlene Dumas. (1994) Models [ink and chalk on paper] 62 x 50 cm each
Marlene Dumas. (1994) Models detail [ink and chalk on paper] 62 x 50 cm
Marlene Dumas. (1994 – ongoing) Rejects [ink, acrylic paint and chalk on paper] 60 x 50 cm each
Normally I spend hours drawing an image but I wanted to create something fluid and inky. This drawing was completed within 40 minutes. I think it’s been good for me to work at speed as often my work becomes too tight. I’m pleased with the result even though the ink dripped on her forehead. I’m going to make more portraits like this using the mugshots.
Mugshot drawing in ink and chalk
We study people for clues to identity. Hair, clothes, jewellery, facial expressions and much more make the person. When seeing someone for the first time whether in life or in a portrait or photograph we each become a detective searching for evidence to who this person is. Who do you think the women are in the photographs below?
A mother? An actress? A victim?
These women are in fact criminals. When I show you the whole picture you will see that these photos are mugshots. The text on the photographs labels, the women and our perception of who we are looking at immediately changes.
Mug shot of Vera Crichton
Mug shot of Hazel McGuinness
I find these photographs fascinating but I’m not sure where I can go with these at the moment. I’m working with the images of nurses I’ve been collecting and these could be included in that work. I can change the identity of these women by giving them different clothes or adding text to an image.
As part of my research I must re-watch Grayson Perry’s series on identity called Who Do You Think You Are?
