Ussu

This is from an ongoing series dedicated to people I spotted while living in London, the place where I discovered and started using Sennelier oil pastels for the first time. Work on paper.This artwork is very dear to me, as it is one of the first that I made using this technique. Nowadays I usually work from photographs I took myself but this one was made on the spot, during an evening at the pub, spent with colleagues from the British Library.Drawing at night in a pub, where the light is barely enough to see the colors I am picking, is very exciting as it gives me the chance to focus on the vibes of the moment, the energy of the "model" and really capturing what's happening around me, on a different level.Ussu (short for Ussumane) was one of my colleagues at the time, a beautiful human being with a great sense of style (something that I really admire, as I do not have that talent myself). He could be stylish even when wearing the BL uniform, so you'll find several portraits of him in my art practice.I hope this artwork brings you joy and color and all the energy and the beauty that one can find looking at the humans of London, a city that I adore.The artwork has been treated with 3 layers of fixing spray and will be shipped in a box, given the nature of the oil pastel is advisable to framed with a glass as soon as possible in order to protect it from the dust.The video shows the artwork in my current atelier in Agerola, on the Amalfi Coast.Drew on 28th January 2018, at Millers Pub, Islington, London.

A4 on paper.