Emily Wick | SCCArtGalleries

My work expresses my fascination with line and my love of the human form. I draw large and keep my arm moving fluidly, creating a line that leads your eye through the body and depicting plane changes in the faces, limbs, and torsos. The lines themselves are expressive; quick and agitated lines express nervousness, and the more fluid and swooping lines create a sense of calm movement.

Charcoal is one of the simplest of all materials and yet the one I adore above all others. No other material that I have used allows such versatility when creating line, whether it be the soft and easily smudged vine or the deep dark lines of a compressed stick. Drawing large allows me to start fluid and then I go in dark and heavy, pressing the charcoal into the paper and smearing things around with my fingers.

I find the inherent self-expression of a self-portrait personally engaging. Examining my own face and body frankly has led to a separation from the everyday bombardment of beauty standards and has allowed me some piece of acceptance for my physical flaws. I find freedom in drawing these flaws in myself and others; bags under the eyes, the natural folds of fat, and unkempt hair. Throughout the process of drawing this series I began to explore the ways in which my own anxieties could be depicted through self-portraits. Focusing on the themes of dreams and identity, these three drawings confront the anxieties surrounding my own body, my responsibility as the oldest sister, and a personal phobia. My goal in this series is to create a personal connection with the viewer through the dark intensity and intimate subject matter.

- Emily Wick