Coutances harmony Original drawing by Irina Sumanenkova (2011) Dessin par Irina Sumanenkova

This is an original handmade drawing, sketch marker on paper.
Dimensions are: 50 x 30 cm

This artwork is inspired by the cathedral of Coutances, a city in Northen France. I was impressed by the Gothic wonder and decided to depict it in it's original era: Middle Ages.

My favorite technique for black and white works is a sketch marker, I use 0.05 mm and 0.1 mm in diameter only. This marker draws by pigment ink with alcohol, that`s why it dries almost immediatly.

About working process:

After the idea came, I begin to collect the information, depending on an era and country I need to depict. That means not only architecture, costumes and armor of that chosen time, but also faces for my characters. Because the type of French knight face of XV st. differ from the English one, German or Flanders of the same era. I search for the faces types in manusripts XV st., miniatures and paintings come down to us. Then I chose elements for a composition and drawing construction stage begins on paper. My academy drawing education helps me to create human figures for my ideas. Anatomy academic drawing I have learned in University from a Gottfried Bammes anatomy book. In order to portray a facial expression or a movement in a most natural way, I use photographs sometimes, but oftenly it comes from the imagination. I can draw a figure or face in any angle need. When the figures drawing is finished, I add clothes on them, every fold should be on it`s right place and characterize the type of textile. Historical costumes depended on the era and country (XV st., France) and on the estate each character belongs to.

When the figures drawing is complete, I continue work with surroundings. The photogragh of architecture oftenly distorts the perspective and verticals. So, for my work, every building needs to be recreated anew, based on the photograph.

Next stage is shadow casting, depending on the light source from a photograph. It should help me to highlight my main characters. Sometimes shadows can create an unexpected effect need. The finished construction drawing now is ready to be carried on another piece of paper to hachure my drawing with marker.

The hatching process is the most laborious, because my finished work looks like lithography, only it was made by hand directly on paper. Moving the line along, I have to keep in mind what I am hatching now: a face, a hand, a hair, an architecture, a type of textile (light or heavy fabric), is it a clothes on a figure or just a drapery, a ground, a stone or a sky - in order to depict any surface most naturally. After the personages are finished, I can go on with surroundings, following up that every single line helps me to highlight the main characters and sculpt the another surface at the same time. That`s why the sky came in the last turn - it`s role not to interfere in composition most of the time, it`s just express the mood.
That`s why 3 square centimeters take 2.5 hours.

The main difference between this technique and oil painting is that here I don`t have much opportunity to correct, if something went wrong. Everything should be executed from the first time. It can be only lighten or darken a little in a small spots, that`s all. This is the last stage - to conform the whole work, to harmonize everything in it.

This artwork took me 4 months and can be recreated for a customer.

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Thèmes connexes

ArchitectureGothicGothic ArchitectureDrawingMiddle Ages