Alejandro Pasquale’s Nostalgic Drawings Recall Old Photographs

Alejandro Pasquale uses charcoal and graphite to create images with photographic accuracy. From top to bottom, each picture is flush with elaborate detail. Pasquale brings to life seemingly banal background elements, like blades of grass and tree branches, which he makes look luscious and vivid.

His work demonstrates his skill in dealing with values of light and dark, though Pasquale sometimes incorporates bits of color into his pieces. Sometimes, this takes the form of highlighting part of a figure, like clothing, and other times, pixels of color are dotted throughout the piece as a more abstract design element. The drawings he creates through his process bear similarities to old photographs, rendering the blurred movements of his subjects the same way a camera would. Pasquale captures more than just the physical image before him, as he puts the emotional pull of hazy memories on to paper.