Description

Braiding Hair

By Marc Alexander from his ‘Touch’ exhibition. ‘Braiding Hair’, Archival Paper Print, 300g Hahnemuhle Paper, 6cm by 8.5cm. Framed.

Braiding Hair

The beautiful practice that is horse mane braiding has been around for hundreds of years in the equestrian community. Over time, braiding became more about showmanship, used as a way to show a horse’s prestige. Braiding can still be seen at horse shows today, depending largely on the level of the competition. While some horses will have flowing manes, braiding is thought of as a more polished and traditional look. It is believed that regular braiding can reduce the risks of problems such as parasites setting in, damaged hair, constant tangles, etc. and with the braid, you don’t have to make a habit of grooming every single day. It’s a time-saver on your end and a fashionable choice for the horse beyond just encouraging better health.

Touch Series

After a long season of producing portraits in oils, I returned for a while to the humble pencil. The ‘Touch’ exhibition, which opened at the Studio Gallery Kalk Bay on Friday June 14^th 2013 and ran until July 3^rd, was the result of that experience – a true celebration of the beauty and expressiveness of the human hand.

Several months before this show, a group of us artists got together in the studio to work on life drawings, and for me, hands are one of the most difficult parts of the human body to draw, so I decided to master this challenge by producing one hundred detailed drawings. Friends, family and even casual acquaintances, modeled their hands for me and in each drawing I tried to capture the unique character of each individual.

A great deal could be learned about a person just by observing their hands. For example, the slight hand gestures of a person in love, or the anxious mannerisms of the addicted smoker clutching his last cigarette, or the telltale scars and callouses which belong to a hard working laborer. The hands are young and old, lined and smooth and endlessly expressive and tell a hundred stories which are all captured in my hyper-realistic style.

Archival Prints 

Many of Marc’s artworks are available as fine art digital prints. Professionally photographed and printed on large format inkjet printers, these prints are limited edition numbered bottom left and signed bottom right. The paper used is 320g Hahnemuhle archival watercolour paper. The process employs fade resistant, archival inks, which boast a 100+ year fade-proof guarantee.

The paper prints are sold plastic wrapped on an acid-free foamcore backing board. These prints are also available in varying sizes of canvas.