Sunday, December 7, 2008

Blast from the Past #126: Emily Dickinson portrait

Back in the lates 1970's and early 1980's I was into the "stipple" technique of drawing wherein one builds up an image using many tiny dots. It's a pretty time-consuming process, but I always liked the way the image emerged over time and took shape. There's something almost architectural about the process -- like building a structure brick by brick. (I used this technique for last year's Mirage Christmas card.)

This is a piece I did in 1979. It is based on what I believe is the only authenticated photograph of Emily Dickinson, who once lived and wrote in the town of Amherst, Massachusetts. -- PL


2 comments:

Bookgal said...

Oh a beautiful drawing of one of my favorite poets! What a wonderful peice, thank you peter!

She wrote the poem I have always seen as summing me up perfectly since I read it at 12.

"I'm nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?
Then there's a pair of us — don't tell!
They'd banish us, you know.
How dreary to be somebody!
How public, like a frog
To tell your name the livelong day
To an admiring bog!"

~ tOkKa said...

-->> ..Sarah said it best.

>v<