Dan Kirchoff
Pen & Ink Portraiture
Portraiture is something I’ve been working on for some time.
Most artists draw people from the front three-quarter view. While this is common and such that you can see what someone looks like, it’s rather dull. Okay, it’s nice to see what someone looks like straight-on, but I view people from a different angle. Ideally, I like to draw portraiture from behind the person, getting a bit of their profile so you can see who they are. My theory is, if you know someone, you recognize them from a number of different angles, as opposed to just the front view. So why not have a different take?
These are done in pen-and-ink on paper.
01/06/2024
Santiago is a great model. He’s got that wonderful facial hair, and in this case, he has everything tied back in a bun on his head. As the figure drawing group doesn’t let me get behind the model, I drew his profile.
12/02/2023
Tim is a good friend and fellow singer. Is it easier to draw a portrait of someone you know? I don’t think it matters, as I tend to reduce everyone to lines.... This is another profile.
10/07/2023
Ashe was a hoot to draw. She came in her wedding dress, decked out to the nines. A little girl walked by the door while we were drawing and stopped stone cold, staring at Ashe. Plus, Ashe had a great personality.
08/26/2023
Arianna hails from Fort Kent, in the most northern part of Maine. She's an artist, a bit of a rebel, and didn’t really fit into the small-town rural Maine culture. So she came south and modeled for us in Belfast (Maine).
07/15/2023
Ainsley was one of those models who looked away from me, allowing me to draw her from my favorite angle, a three-quarter view from behind. I got her profile in there so you could see who she is.
07/06/2023
Sarah is our local newspaper correspondent for the town of Washington, Maine. She said she was camera-shy but allowed me to draw a portrait to run with her column. She said it was “very WSJ,” which I appreciate.
06/17/2023
Santiago sat for us with his curly locks down, a wonderful challenge for me. I also loved that his hair was in his face, giving the portrait a bit of mystery. I know, I can never just show you who the person is. You have to work for it.
05/13/2023
This is Arianna, from my favorite angle, the back three-quarter view, showing you just a touch of her profile. The glasses give it a nice touch as well. The northern Maine rebel here in Belfast (Maine).
06/25/2022
Here's a drawing of Ashe from 2022. Her curly hair was great to draw, plus she had one lock that came down, obstructing her eye. Those are my favorite kinds of details, making the portrait look rather candid.
08/21/2021
This drawing is from 2021, and I wish I had recorded this gentleman’s name. He had a wonderful Santa Claus white beard and I dove in with relish. To the right of the finished drawing, you can see two in-process drawings, a bit of my process.