Self Portrait on Burned Wood

Self Portrait on Burned Wood - 80 x 40cm
A self portrait using pastel on burned wood. Using 'shou sugi ban', a technique for burning and preserving wood, I created a black base layer, which is then drawn on top of using a range of grayscale pastels.

A video showing the creation of this piece is available on request.

The gesture lines on the image are used to highlight the emotion of the subject. The resulting image is a dimly lit figure on a dark background, in a realistic, yet expressive style.