Washington, DC. based artist Ashley Oubré creates compelling photoreal images with just carbon pencil, graphite and india ink. Her drawings capture private moments of shame and humiliation from insecurities that many of us face. As someone who once fought depression, she’s set out to embrace what society considers abnormal; obesity, stretch marks, age spots, and twisted spines. These are the characteristics that connect her subjects. At her blog, Oubré writes, “I try to craft a portrait in a way that will reach the aforementioned with a delicacy that says to them and anyone who feels that they’re losing, feels that they’ve lost – I understand.”
Uli Knörzer’s gorgeous colored pencil portraits are rich with detail and humanity. The artist moves between familiar and lesser known subjects in his work. Each is given his or her own space, Knörzer using negative space and abstracting garments to extract the figure’s personality.
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