No. 223: Shades of Gray (Lou Reed)

Lou Reed, November 2013, 2.5' x 3.5' (approx.), adapted from two photographs by Jean Baptiste Mondino

This drawing of Lou Reed  (March 2, 1942 – October 27, 2013) was done for myself as a lesson in facial detail, hands and eyes. Friends close to my art know that I struggle with hands.  They are my weak point.

The decision to tackle such a detailed face and hand came about after acquiring hundreds of pencils and drawing leads, gifted to me by my draftsman uncle, brother of my late artist mother. These tools offer me hundreds of shades and textures, and Reed gave me an opportunity to test and learn.
It is a much slower process than doing it all with one or two pencils, but the results are encouraging, and I picked up speed as I caught on.

Some of my tools.

A few people had asked me, following Reed's death, if I planned to draw him -- and I said no.
I do like Reed's music, and I have one of his poetry books.  I admire his experiments in sound recording (binaural sound), his New York toughness, his abuse and resurgence and survival.  Lou Reed took no prisoners, as one of his album titles suggests.
But he is not a repeat player here. A little Lou goes a long way.

I am happy with this hand.

A few weeks before Reed died, photographer Jean Baptiste Mondino took photos for a French audio company's print ad.  In some he wore dark shades, in others he did not. He looked worn but tough.  This drawing is based on two of those photos, because I wanted to see Reed's eyes behind those shades.  The eyes here were drawn first, and then drawn over with the glasses frames and dark lenses.
The effect is exactly what I sought: You can see those worn eyes behind the dark lenses, which appear on paper as transparent.

Leather.

I am especially happy with the skin here.  It's leather-like, fissured, contrasted and detailed. All of this was made possible by the new pencils (which, ironically, are probably 40 years old). Lou's dark jacket also has a lot of texture, though it is all dark.  In an accidental twist, I found that drawing with the grain of my old drawing table created the perfect wood grain for the guitar.

"Live In Italy" is an album by Lou Reed recorded live in Verona and Rome on September 7 and 10, 1983 by the Rolling Stones Mobile Unit. It was issued on vinyl only in Germany, UK and Japan. Somehow I acquired a copy. RCA-PL 89156 (2).  This is my favorite Reed record.

 

I knew when Lou Reed, No. 223, was completed -- so I stopped.  I did not go over the drawing with additional shading, highlighting or detailing.  I just quit it cold and framed him.
It's a beautiful frame, fitting for this piece, although this was not its intended use.  It was available, the drawing fit, and I sealed it up.
It's solid oak, very heavy, and a little knotty and gnarled.

It's a perfect match.