Evgeny Parfenov is a Russian freelance illustrator who has contributed his work to magazines such as Rolling Stone and GQ Magazine. I was really drawn to his work because he does a lot of celebrity illustrations and I secretly occasionally take interest in pop culture affairs. There is not much information about him and his biography, but a lot of his drawings are available online and I have recognized some of them in many magazines.
The illustrations I was drawn to were of Nas (one of my favorite rappers), Joan from Mad Men (one of my favorite shows), and Stephen Colbert (also one of my favorite shows). I think Evgeny Parfenov was very accurate in capturing microexpressions in his art, such as Colbert's signature eyebrow raise. I couldn't tell which brush was used, but I noticed that he really emphasized brush strokes in adding dimensions and shadows to faces. I also liked his choice of backgrounds that he used, that tended to be subtle but also relatable to the subject. In Nas' portrait, there is a chained fence behind him, which seemed to fit in with his background; Colbert has an American flag that looks slightly distorted (which in my opinion kind of aligned with his satirical "distorted" look at America), and Joan has a very 1960s-esque yellow and orange background. Overall, Evgeny Parfenov was able to capture the expressions and personalities of each celebrity he drew without looking like he was overdoing it with dramatics and staying true to each subject.
The illustrations I was drawn to were of Nas (one of my favorite rappers), Joan from Mad Men (one of my favorite shows), and Stephen Colbert (also one of my favorite shows). I think Evgeny Parfenov was very accurate in capturing microexpressions in his art, such as Colbert's signature eyebrow raise. I couldn't tell which brush was used, but I noticed that he really emphasized brush strokes in adding dimensions and shadows to faces. I also liked his choice of backgrounds that he used, that tended to be subtle but also relatable to the subject. In Nas' portrait, there is a chained fence behind him, which seemed to fit in with his background; Colbert has an American flag that looks slightly distorted (which in my opinion kind of aligned with his satirical "distorted" look at America), and Joan has a very 1960s-esque yellow and orange background. Overall, Evgeny Parfenov was able to capture the expressions and personalities of each celebrity he drew without looking like he was overdoing it with dramatics and staying true to each subject.
