A recent drawn silkscreen portrait was of artist Yuchen Yang. Having drawn the portrait and prior to printing, I considered whether making additional marks might enhance the image and point further to her artistic subjects, styles and skills. This was an opportunity to experiment with visual mark making beyond the figurative mimetic realism of the drawn portrait. Could additional marks bring ‘more’ to a portrait, to reflect more of the artist’s perception of the subject’s personality. Alternatively additional marks may be to the detriment of the original drawn image. I presented three portraits: plain background, blue beaded and extended beading. The subject selected the latter to take home with her to China following her MA in the UK. She did so as it featured similar marks to some of her art works.
