There’s something about the profile that is set apart from other forms of portrait. The indirect gaze, away to the left or right; the ancient form, seen on coins, stamps, tapestries, fresco’s. Less about personality, more about status and a recording for posterity, value and respect. Photographs can’t capture this- frustratingly, they end up leaving it to you to resolve the profile.
A line needs to be selected, drawn. Drawn with care and careful observation.
I think this is a reason we’re so intrigued by the profile, it’s that pure expression of line work, not nearly so prevalent in other portraits: particularly mine where I favour some indirect modelling. At it’s essence, a profile is pure contour.
When I lead drawing sessions, I invoke that careful, contiguous line drawing, “contour drawing”, as a valuable exercise in observation and pacing. Drawing slowly and deliberately, this is the best way to resolve the profile. Even after some investigative sketching, it’s clear that a slow hand resolves the final image. Some artists like it, some less so, but it’s always useful. For me, its a stimulating contrast to some of my other methods, and I value the results.
Here are a few of my profile studies:
Hi David. Your profiles all convey a great deal of expression and attitude.
What is fascinating to me are all the indentations or protuberances that suddenly appear when I’m examining a profile closely. It’s a challenge to reproduce them on the page.
Hi Diane, That’s exactly the challenge eh…the devil’s in the details. The more you look the more you see. The satisfaction of capturing those little shapes can’t be rushed! David