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Dave Kobrenski in Artwork
Jul 24 2016 …
In the Malinké tradition of West Africa, the Dununba is the “dance of the strong men”. In a grueling and exuberant festival that can often last throughout the day, the Dununba dancers display their physical prowess while accompanied by the traditional djembe and dunun drums.
Here is the latest drawing from my series depicting Mandinka culture in West Africa: a dununba dancer hailing from the Kouroussa region of Guinea gets airborne!
This artwork is included in my book Drawing on Culture: An Artist’s West Africa Travelogue, which is available to purchase here.
Dununba Dancer in Flight
19x24” pencil on bristol by Dave Kobrenski
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For more info about Dununba, I wrote about this amazing festival and the music that accompanies it in my 2014 book, Djoliba Crossing (available here and here).
Detailed Views:
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detail #1 - click for larger
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detail #2 - click for larger
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detail #3 - click for larger
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detail #4 - click for larger
The Process:
Here’s a little bit of the drawing process!
Click any image to view larger, and use your right/left arrow keys to scroll through ‘em.
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Step 1
The initial lay-in. Finding the main shapes, creating movement and gesture, and thinking about composition.
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Step 2
Shadow mapping: determining the main areas of shadow and light, and “mapping” the boundaries between core shadows, cast shadows, reflected light, and highlights.
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Step 3
Rendering the form. Here, I begin thinking about the tonal range of values, as well as where the focal point of the drawing will be, and I begin rendering shadow areas and adding some details.
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Step 4
Rendering the form. Here I’m studying the anatomy of the figure, and begin to render the face, arms and hands, paying careful attention to how the light and shadow wrap around the forms. Not easy! The arm alone is taking quite some time.
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Step 5
More rendering! This is really getting fun, and there’s lots to do: rendering the fabric of his black pants is challenging but important. Lots of folds and creases, but the fabric really is dark so I have to take my time and go slow, layering values on top of values. A great opportunity for lots of “surface abstraction”, which I love so much!
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Finished Drawing
Whew! The anatomy of this dancer was really challenging and fun, and a great opportunity to study the form and muscles of arms and hands. The background became very important too, as I wanted to create a sense of space as he is flying through the air, but also had to maintain a focal point in the drawing so that little details didn’t become too distracting. All in all, this 19x24 inch drawing took nearly 18 hours!
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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
About the Author
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