Pietro Pelosi
Marcellin College
BREATHE...
Drawing
Scratchboard
'To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don’t grab hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and float.' Alan Watts
I swim during times of angst. I have discovered that water is like life: sometimes peaceful and comforting, sometimes overwhelming and imprisoning. In my body of work I explore feelings of intensity and awe, representing these majestic forces through chiaroscuro and negative space on scratchboard. Is every decision we make as unforgiving as a scratch on board? I watch the bubbles flowing upwards. Breathe.
My artmaking practice has been influenced by the study and interpretation of the following artists: Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Martine Emdur, Alban Grosdidier, Tracey Stoll, Benjamin Vnuk, Francis Bacon.
Marker's Commentary
Breathe… is a highly resolved and engaging series of drawings demonstrating expertly controlled, sensitive and innovative drawing practice. Careful observation and confident and delicate manipulation of the scratchboard medium is sustained throughout. Each panel in ‘Breathe….’ expertly captures the refraction and movement of water through mature line work and hatching techniques. The framing of figure partially submerged in or emerging from water displays to the audience the subject at one in his watery world of action, reflection and contemplation. The choice of monochromatic representation allows the viewer to focus attention thoughtfully on the subject of the works and his relationship with water. The fluid nature of water reinforces concepts of the exploration of how individuals ebb and flow through the challenges and experiences of life, at times diving in and other times floating gently by.