Drew Malapanes

POSITIVE COPING MECHANISM

In my work, I focus heavily on aesthetics, texture, and technical skill to achieve a specific uniqueness in my drawings. Since I am a portraitist, when I choose a reference image for my drawings, I choose them based on the physical features of the subject and how the photograph itself makes the viewer feel. I tend to choose unconventionally attractive subjects for my portraits or subjects that are making a strange face or are being photographed from odd angles. An example of this is Madonna, which I chose to draw given the odd angle that the photo is taken at. Choosing the image that I will draw is the most difficult part of making the piece.

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I also enjoy drawing celebrities, whether they are models, actors, or musicians. Recently, I have become more fascinated with drawing people I know personally and even drawing self portraits. My most recent completed pieces, Eyes and Insecurities, are both self portraits. These pieces are easily the most symbolic and meaningful given that they are representative of how I view myself not necessarily as an artist, but as an individual.

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As a queer person, I tend to find myself more inclined to draw women. However, I am attracted to femininity in both men and women; this is shown through my choice to draw feminine men even when I do choose to draw men. My series of portraits, Man, Björk, and Buffalo Bill, is an example of this. Both of the men in this series that I drew are feminine in some way. The pose and aesthetic of the unnamed Man is largely