Kevin Hardin

About the Artist

“I work in pencil because it’s what I’m most comfortable using. I like the tactile feel, and I try to see how far I can take it as a medium. It is always teaching, and I am always learning. These particular drawings interested me simply because of the faces. Most are images found in the Edward Curtis photography collection in the Library of Congress, which I crop and position on hand-made panels to my own aesthetic.

All are drawn with a range of pencils from 4H (the lightest) to 10B (the darkest) and take from two to eight months to complete. I build up the tones and textures in layers. First, a tone, then blended with paper stubs, then smoothed with erasers, which tend to imbed the tone into the gessoed surface. I keep building it up, and once I have completed the overall image, I go back for highlights or to lighten or darken a specific area.

Starting a drawing is exciting; however, it is first fear – staring at the blank page, especially the larger ones – then it’s down to patience and persistence to see them through. I enjoy drawing faces because they are plentiful, individual, expressive, and viewers can relate to them easily. I use photos because of the level of detail and as a stable reference because of the time it takes to finish a drawing. I am dealing with the point of a pencil; there are no broad strokes.”

— Kevin Hardin