Charcoal on paper (framed).
10.50x14"
My goal in drawing this portrait was to create a composition and subject that created a photo realistic illusion. The charcoal allowed me to create high contrast and slight tones in black and white to create depth in the work. The different smudging techniques I used, allowed me to create the illusion of foreground and background of the piece as well as the unfocused areas as if the drawing was a photograph. By adding the water to the face created a more realistic illusion with the high contrast of the light reflecting off the water.
Leah Probst is a Toronto-based Canadian artist who grew up in Caledon, Ontario in a creative family. As her passion for making art grew, she began to focus on acrylic painting and soft pastel drawing using people and animals as her subjects. Probst went on to post-secondary school at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario where she completed her Advanced Diploma in Fine Arts. After graduation, she continued her studies at the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD U) to complete her Bachelor of Fine Arts. Probst has exhibited and sold multiple original works in art shows in galleries throughout North America. Her work mainly focusing on portraits and figures in a heightened realistic style. Probst believes that a painting should tell a story, allowing each viewer to slow down and see the beauty it brings – for each individual to take away a unique experience shared with the work of art.
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
My work explores creative expression by combining figurative painting with texture, movement and experimentation of different mediums. Working mainly in acrylic and oil paint, I convey the meaning, story, and visual inspiration behind each work.
I aim to capture the physical likeness and the uniqueness of the individual. I convey clarity and honesty to the portrait, inviting the viewer to appreciate the fundamentals of the subject. I reveal the individual, looking beyond the surface toward the human condition with empathy to the personal connection I have with each subject I paint. The evident slowness in my paintings acknowledge attention paid to the layering of information, built-up levels of paint, and a complexity of mixed colours which bring the paintings to life.
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