Source / activity 7: Portrait - 'The problem'

This image is called 'The Problem'. It was used as an illustration for a story of that name included in 'Unlikely Stories, Mostly', a book of short stories written by Alasdair Gray and published by Canongate Books in 1983.

The initial pencil sketch and the subsequent, more finished pen and ink drawing demonstrate Gray's distinctive, stylised approach for book illustration and art, even for naturalistic subjects such as portraits.

You might like to use this image as a starting point for considering the constraints and advantages of choosing different materials, tools, and techniques, such as pencil and pen and ink.

Compare the two very similar images, and consider what difference the choice of materials makes to the portraits.

For example, observe how the softer pencil shading is used to capture shadow and detail in the first picture, and how this is depicted using cross-hatching when the artist uses pen and ink.

You could try creating a series of portraits or self-portraits using different materials and techniques.