David Bjurstrom

When I draw, I use light and shadow to delineate surfaces, much like a painter uses color. In that respect, my approach to drawing is more like painting. The only lines visible are those used to portray a texture in my subjects.

This approach mimics the way our eyes see the world. We don’t see lines separating objects from the background. The separation is achieved through variations in color, light and shadow. With the pencil, I have only black, white and gray to work with. I rely only on the light falling across the surfaces. It is also the light or, actually, the shadows created by the light which reveals the textures of the subject.

It’s often commented that my drawings look like photographs but they go well beyond what a photograph could be. As an artist, I have the luxury to add or subtract details that cannot be readily done with a camera. There is clarity in my subjects not easily possible in a photograph. There is also an undefined quality that, while sometimes photographic in detail, adds an emotional response. That emotion is something that comes from the artist’s hand. It results from the conscious and unconscious decisions made in the creation of the artwork.