A slashing tempest?
A rugged granite cliff?
A rolling river?
The tail plumage from a firebird?
Naw, it's just the way Robert Fawcett draws a face:
This intense little portrait (approximately 4 inches tall) is a virtuoso performance by a master draftsman. Look at the speed and facility with which Fawcett employs a dazzling array of marks on paper to channel the designs of nature. This is what I call drawing!
Fawcett took draftsmanship very seriously and was fiercely proud of his ability. As Roger Reed of Illustration House observed about some of the lines in this drawing, "he must have used a bamboo stick to draw with, like he searched for the most difficult-to-control tool in the box."
Do you prefer your drawings less intense? That's OK. Simplicity is another weapon in Fawcett's arsenal:
I am pleased to be working with Auad Publishing on a book about the life and work of Robert Fawcett. I hope you will keep an eye out for it.
