Artist
Jo Dumpleton
Hertfordshire based Jo Dumpleton studied illustration at Camberwell College of Arts, London. Having experimented with various drawing styles, she became absorbed by intricate small scale pencil drawings. More recently however, Jo has begun working at a larger scale using pan pastel.
Her works are delicately intimate. She takes inspiration from 18th century miniatures, historical fashion and the black and white musical sequences of Busby Berkeley. Focusing on portraiture, she uses antique photographs as source material. She is fascinated by the mysterious intimacy of the people in old photographs. Her work zooms in on elements such as hands, clothing details or eyes and moustaches, giving her drawings a humorous and contemporary feel.
Jo's Style
Going to antique shops and fairs, Jo is immediately drawn to the boxes of discarded family photos and studio portraits. She is intrigued by the mystery of the unknown people in the photos. Her process is slow and painstakingly detailed but this allows her to consider the people she is depicting and wonder what sort of life they led.
The composition is always carefully considered in advance, she then uses pencil and graphite, which allow her a huge amount of control especially on the smaller scale works. For her recent works she has also started to use pan pastel, which creates a more painterly effect, blurring the shadow and light using a sponge to create a depiction of fabric that makes you want to reach out and touch it.
“"I find it quite heartbreaking that these people and memories that were once so special to someone are now lost and being sold to complete strangers. Drawing these subjects, not only allows me to indulge my interest in fashions and styles of the past, but it also allows me time to think about who this person may have been and what kind of life they had. I hope that the viewer has a similar experience, perhaps coming up with their own story for each piece.” — Jo Dumpleton
