Bitmap Bumpkin

A wonderful rendering of an aged jamaican folk-singer. The pencil drawing shows an extraordinary attention to detail and - mostly - texturing. There are quite a few successful textures in the image. From the almost leathery quality of the face, to the spreckled dreadlocks of the rastaman. The artwork is realistic without really becoming photorealistic. Here and there are signs of a creative artist who will take liberties with the photographic truth in order to express his own view of the world.

There's a cleanliness to the lines that reveal the deliberations of an author. Some lines are audacious, some lines and textures - it seems to me - are slightly cartoon-like (see the hand, nails and wrist).

This could, on the surface, seem to infer some critique of Mr. Thornton's work. Not at all; Thornton has produced a portrait of fine quality and somehow also managed to convey his own penchant for caricature, comics and cartoons. Not in an undesirable way but in a way that shows the character of the artist.

It shows deliberation, determination and a steadfast belief in ones own ideas. Thornton puts down his ideas with the naturalness of a Bob Marley lyric. He puts his line down firm; confident that it is correct. Then, methodically, he continues to craft the image until it virtually "pops" off the screen.

Artwork Addict

nice work. he was very withered here and you did a good job of bringing that on-screen.