Ink Mug Shots

I was very happy when I read that this week’s Art Journal Adventure prompt was “Mug Shots”.  I am into the history of photography and am also a family historian so I instantly thought of all those characterful vintage mug shots of criminals and workhouse inmates.  I decided, therefore, to use those as my inspiration but almost as soon as I started pootling around on google images I decided to use some of the images not just as vague inspiration, a jumping off point, but as direct inspiration, scaffolding for a group of portrait sketches.  Now, I am not a portraitist.  I do not possess the degree of accuracy required plus I am actually not that interested in verisimilitude.  I, therefore, had no intention of even attempting to create faithful likenesses to the individuals captured in the vintage mug shots.  I just wanted to capture some essence of them, some details, and go from there.

Deciding to challenge myself a little, I undertook to draw these in an “almost blind contour” approach.  I did not completely cover the page or my drawing hand, which would have made it properly blind contour, but I kept my art journal and hand off to one side and tried not to look very often while I focused on observing the details on the computer screen.  That approach meant the drawings did not go completely wonky but the proportions did go skew-wiff enough to add some interest and character in my drawings.  I initially drew in pencil – just in case – but then tried my best to stay true to the original line work when going over it with my trusty fountain pen (a Lamy Al Star with a Fine nib and filled with Noodler’s Bulletproof).  I added a few more details and some shading using another pen filled with Lexington Grey ink.  I used that same grey ink in a wash for some areas of the drawings.

In the top left is my depiction of Walter Smith.  According to a blog entry, Smith was a burglar in New South Wales sentenced to 6 months hard labour in 1924.  I chose his photo as I liked the defeated slouch.  Top right is Dorothy Mort who, in 1920, shot dead the chap who she was having an affair with.  I chose her photo because of her interesting profile and her sad sack stance.  Bottom right is a mugger named Charles Money.  There was something about his calmly defiant facial expression and relaxed pose that appealed to me.  Finally, in the bottom left, is my drawing of one Lamar Warter whose mug shot came courtesy of a drink driving rap.  When I saw that image, I knew I had to draw that profile with that really prominent adam’s apple.

Shadows and Light

Having decided to pick out two lessons to “catch up” on missed art lessons, the second one I picked was another Life Book lesson.  I wanted to tackle this one as the layering and creation of texture would present me with challenge and, therefore, learning opportunities but the inclusion of figures meant it was a subject (unlike florals) that automatically appealed to me.

The lesson was by Gillian Lee Smith and I really enjoyed her approach to building up layers and balancing out dark and light elements throughout that process.  Once I got the background to a level of grunginess I was happy with – and I used shades of brown for a sort of vintage, sepia feel – it was time to work on the figures.  I did not have the materials required for the method Smith demonstrated so I had to improvise.  I also decided not to incorporate more than one figure and just focus on one face.  I think it was the whole sepia tone thing as it made me think of a carte de visite photographic portrait.  I really enjoyed the process of pulling the figure out from the background through use of light and shadow, white paint and black ink.  I am not overly keen on the outcome – she looks a bit spectral to me, like something you might find hanging on the wall of a haunted house – but I really did like the process and felt I learned quite a bit from it.  Something to return to in future and try again.