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Erica Brechtelsbauer
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Erica Brechtelsbauer
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Erica Brechtelsbauer
Working primarily with charcoal and pencil, artist Sydney Clawson crafts detailed, take-up-the-wall sketches.
Her portraits bring subjects to life, including music legends, like Chris Stapleton, Stevie Nicks, and Don Williams, as well as famed actors, like Leonardo DiCaprio and Marilyn Monroe.
Uninspired by a high school drawing assignment, Clawson took it upon herself to explore new artistic horizons. Instead of opting to do the assigned illustration of a simple object, she drafted a portrait from a photo she’d taken on a recent trip to Sudan.
“It was kind of funny because I didn’t know I had that ability until that moment,” she says. “And neither did anyone else, because we hadn’t really been challenged on that level.”
Clawson enrolled in Lee University and was the third person to graduate from her program.
“A lot of people assume that because I graduated with an art degree that I went to an art school with a really intense art program,” she says. “But I really had a lot of freedom, which I think is what allowed me to get to where I am quickly.”
Speed is a constant thread in Clawson’s work. She completes most portraits in a matter of days, even those done at a larger scale.
“The reason I do that is because I like to see the end result,” she says. “I don’t like stopping and picking back up on a project.”
Clawson works from photos, noting that some images translate better on paper with charcoal than others—especially those with lots of contrast. She creates her large-scale pieces by graphing, or sometimes projecting images, and then sketching an outline in pencil to begin. Clawson often commences by working with vine charcoal, which is known for being a bit more forgiving.
“I’ll start with a lighter value and then just build on it until I’m doing the really dark black areas,” she says. “And then the last thing I’ll do is build on it with some white chalk.”
One of her most-admired pieces is of Dolly Parton, which has received more than 15,000 views on Instagram and has been featured in national media.
“I think the thing that I have, kind of unexpectedly, had to work through and dig into is just how to continue exploring my own art,” Clawson says.
The previous year brought her a lot of work, which she’s grateful for, but doing the same thing over and over can lead to artistic fatigue.
“I think I found myself in a season of feeling like I had boxed myself in as an artist by just doing portraits,” she explains. “It wasn’t quite fueling me creatively as it once did, and so I had to really step out of this box.”
Clawson solved the issue by creating an abstract series, tapping into a new well of inspiration.
Although she’s hoping to find the time to create a series for a gallery show, the majority of her work is commissioned. Clawson frequently works with interior designers, most notably April Tomlin.
“That is something that pushes my style and helps me to kind of step out and try new things,” she says. “She pushes me in a way, with her design and me creating things that will fit her design spaces.”
From afar, Clawson’s portraits look realistic, though a closer glance shows that what appear to be wrinkles are actually a combination of lines and geometric shading. In that sense, her style is continuously evolving as she finds different ways to evoke emotion and accomplish detail.
For more, follow along @sydneyclawson or visit sydneyclawson.com.