Jersey Girl

This is about love, man, not hate.

Throughout the summer, I've had the opportunity to share my illustration processes and techniques with my outstanding intern, Becca Johnson -- an illustration student at the Savannah College of Art and Design, in Savannah, Georgia.

This week, she also serves as the model for this illustration.

Photo shoots are a major part of my process. I find reference to be key. I also find it infinitely easier to photograph the exact reference I need, rather than try to hunt down something similar.

Becca and I had an opportunity to conduct a minor shoot a few weeks ago, but this week, I wanted to conduct something a little more major.

My goal was to create an illustration befitting the series that includes my existing illustrations: Plenty, Good Enough, and Fistful of Steel. All of which are seen elsewhere on this blog.

Their common denominator being a snapshot of love, hate, or any of the complex emotions that result, therein.

In order to create such an emotive illustration, I outlined a few of my goals for the shoot.

An arresting image
Without a powerful visual, I'm already digging myself out of a hole, with little chance of engaging the viewer.

A real and visceral sense of emotion
This can be a tricky task, especially in a potentially manufactured setting of a photo shoot.

Spontaneity
Some of the most beautiful poses come from unplanned, split-second moments in time, revealing nuanced complexity that could never be staged.

A sense of symbolism
I'm looking for a visual cue that will speak volumes to the viewer through an inherent, universal language.

I like to go into my shoots with a general outline, like the one above, but leave plenty of room for the unexpected. That's always when the killer shots happen.

And, killer shots I received.

1.5 hours, hundreds of remarkably emotive poses, and 3 beautiful acoustic songs later (she's an amazing singer/songwriter/performer), I was sitting on 842 juicy photographs, all aching to be turned into illustrations.

Examining each, under the criteria outlined above, I weeded my treasure trove down to the top 12.

The spontaneity of this umbrella pose, coupled with the mood, movement, and composition created by the shapes and values gave it the green light.

My next questions: In what context do I place her, and how do I keep the scene from becoming an obvious "woman in love" shot?

I experimented quite a bit, and found, for both composition and mood trickery, the colors should be subdued and mostly cool, allowing the figure to stand out. A gloomy stage would then set up my emotional twist.

The umbrella and rain against a gray, graffiti-riddled brick wall, hopefully, takes the viewer on a ride that takes a turn when the other contextual clues reveal themselves -- the warm glow of the figure, the alluring posture, and, lastly, the "LOVE" logo on the wall.

The right reference and the right model makes all the difference to me. My enormous thanks to Becca for allowing me this illustration and the many more, sure to come, from what was one of the strongest photo shoots I have had the pleasure of conducting.

Check out Becca's work, here.

Allan Burch is an award-winning illustrator and portrait artist, providing solutions for editorial, book, advertising, and institutional projects.
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Plenty

This is all about vulnerability.

When depicting the female form, most of the time there is an automatic sexual component to the symbolism.

What I'm trying to do with this piece is lead the viewer on a ride that looks like we're headed towards that end, but as the composition is dissected, the intended meaning is exposed.

When I happened upon Nathalie Mark's photograph (the reference for this illustration), I saw just that. And, it was very powerful to me.

In my view, one cannot stage the purity and honesty of an unguarded moment, no matter how hard one tries. One can come close, but there is a last bit of integrity that comes through in such true moments.

With foot rested on the window sill, her relaxed, yet partially deflated posture says she is not trying to be anything to anyone. Furthermore, she is staring back at you -- expressionless and non-judgemental -- daring you to draw your own conclusions, invoke your own expressions, and make your own judgements, while forcing you to see her as a person rather than an object.

My challenge was in capturing this dichotomy and making it all about vulnerability, rather than sexuality.

The emotion that I'm banking belied the taking of the photograph, channeled into me as I rendered the illustration with some of the most unguarded strokes I have ever used in an illustration.

I believe that sort of raw emotion seeps in, through the human mark left on the paper -- another bit of the power of illustration.

There is just the slightest distortion in the form to add an undefinable touch of awkwardness to the scene. My color choice further attempts to shift the mood my direction. And, the text brings communication -- the power of words -- into the equation.

What are you saying...what is she thinking? What was said to inflict the hurt and make her remove all guard?

Allan Burch is an award-winning illustrator and portrait artist, providing solutions for editorial, book, advertising, and institutional projects.
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Good Enough

"The way I used to love you
Baby, that's the way I hate you now."

--B. B. King, from the song, "You Done Lost Your Good Thing Now."

Quite frankly, there are plenty of opportunities out there to see the cozy side of Valentine's Day. What about the other side?

One of my favorite artistic techniques to call attention to something is to bring to mind its opposite.

How do you call to mind the opposite of love? Is love always a good thing?

Assuming for a moment that it is, what is that minute like when one realizes things have gone toxic?

Maybe it looks like this.

This is a charcoal study for a painting I have planned.

What's endlessly fascinating to me about this pose is its honesty, coupled with the tension in the body, which is also reflected in the tussled explosion of hair and gnarled hands keeping it from bursting from its seams.

The attractive woman is not attractive in her polka-dotted spaghetti strap summer dress. The revealing flesh and contours of the back, accentuated by the straps, digging in and winding their way around the scapulae, is nothing but vulnerable, as it sits exposed on her unkempt bed, doubled over in absolute grief.

This image is a collaborative effort with Photographer, Nathalie Mark.

I was thinking about the other side of Valentine's Day and what kind of imagery would speak to utter toxicity.

Turning to the web for some inspiration, I happened upon a photograph that wound-up being the reference for this illustration.

I saw incredible potential in a shot that, intended or not, captured something very pure and very emotional, and something that would be very difficult for me to otherwise stage. Plus, the supplemental components (the dress, bed, lighting, room decor) were perfect, and exceptionally ripe for storytelling, in my eyes.

I decided I had to go to the source and see if the photographer would grant permission for me to use the photo as reference for part of a series of illustrations I am planning.

Ms. Mark was very gracious, and we worked out an arrangement granting me such permission.

This is the study.

Some other elements will be added to the painting, to further enhance the story, but as a drawing, I think the power in the pose comes across.

Allan Burch is an award-winning illustrator and portrait artist, providing solutions for editorial, book, advertising, and institutional projects.
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