Dave Kobrenski in Artwork
May 1 2016 …
In the villages in Guinea, much of daily life revolves around tasks related to subsistence farming. Rice, manioc, sweet potatoes, yams, and many other dietary staples are grown in the village. The work is hard, and it is not uncommon to see both young and old at work in the fields. Here, a man sorts through beans that will be sifted and then pounded with the mortar and pestle, and made into that evening’s stew…
Le Vieux Fermier is 14x17” pencil and graphite powder on bristol board, and depicts a farmer in a village in the Kouroussa region of Guinea, not far from the Niger River. This drawing had many challenges, as you will see below. Enjoy! — DK
This artwork is included in my book Drawing on Culture: An Artist’s West Africa Travelogue, which is available to purchase here.
Le Vieux Fermier
14x17” pencil on bristol by Dave Kobrenski
Step 1
I begin the drawing by attempting to locate and lay in the major shapes — which was somewhat difficult in this drawing, due to his crouched stance and the way that his clothing draped and concealed the forms of his anatomy. I tried to focus on the movement of the major lines and how they might reveal the tension in his posture, thinking very abstractly about the shapes that I was seeing in his clothing. I had a bit of difficulty getting this right, and in fact I would have to go back and fix some things later on…
Step 2
I’m feeling sort of OK here about what I’ve got as a starting point, but as I start to define the areas of light and dark and start to lay in some of the anatomy of the face and hands, I’m feeling that some things just aren’t quite right. The head is too big for starters, and I’m not sure I’ve got the angle of the head right either…I’m going to have to fix these issues before I move on! I’m happy with the start I have for the hands however — I know that the hands will have to be depicted well for the drawing to work so I’ve concentrated on simplifying the shapes of the fingers into blocks first, and then starting to form the anatomy around those blocks…
Step 3
OK, so I’ve fixed the head, rethinking the size and angle in relation to the rest of the body and I’m much happier with it…phew! However, I’m starting to realize now that this drawing is going to be a LOT of work so I’m gearing up for the long haul. There’s a lot of cool details in the hands and face that really help to tell the story, and I’m concerned about how I will create a strong focal point without having the drawing seem too “busy” with all the details. I know that the background will be important in creating contrast to help guide the viewers eye, but I’m also thinking that the drawing might need another element to help with the “story” — I think I’m going to add the mortar into the drawing somewhere to help with that, but not quite sure just where to put it yet…
Step 4
In this step, I’ve decided on the location of the mortar in the drawing, but I’ve realized that this is one more element that could detract from the focal point if I’m not careful; I’ll have to carefully push it into the background. I’m also going to have to start working on the background in order to tame all these elements! It’s a push and pull process: darkening one area, lightening another area until it just “feels” right and that the focal point becomes clear. Also here, I’m working up to my full value range and determining where the darkest darks will go,and where the areas of highest contrast will be. And, continuing to refine the shapes and render the anatomy, jumping from one area to another so that the drawing gets developed as a whole and doesn’t end up feeling disjointed. Man, a lot of challenges!!
Finished Drawing
In the final stages of the drawing, I really focused on rendering the anatomy of the arms, hands, and face while still attempting to maintain a clear focal point for the drawing as a whole. Lots of pushing and pulling, and loads of patience. It was important to take lots of breaks during this long drawing, as every time I stepped away from it and came back with “fresh eyes” I would see something different. Rendering the background became quite the challenge and at times I thought I could easily ruin the drawing! At long last, the forms of the shirt, the mortar, and the background started to play nicely together, and I felt I could start the last challenge: the beans themselves. I made sure I had plenty of time and was relaxed for this, just enjoying drawing those little shapes and tried to make them pleasing little objects.
In the end, I’m very happy with what was the most difficult drawing I had attepted yet. I hope you enjoy it too!
Le Vieux Fermier
14x17” pencil on bristol by Dave Kobrenski.
Featured In:
Drawing on Culture
An Artist’s West Africa Travelogue
An artistic journey of cultural discovery into the heart of West Africa.
“Dave Kobrenski is a gifted artist and musician, and a better anthropologist than many of the PhDs I know. Here is a fine text that depicts people as they are, illustrates their essence, and demonstrates the importance of appreciating, without appropriating, their lives and ways of being.”
— Katherine Donahue, Ph.D, Professor Emerita, Anthropology