Mark Powell is a London based artist who reuses old envelopes as canvas to produce photorealistic drawingswhich are mainly portraiture. Powell's drawings and constructed using biro pen only and often incooporate the original features of the letter including stamps and handwriting.
Due to simlar reasons to my attraction to Alasdair Thompsons work, i have been captured by Mark Powell's idea of drawing on used envelopes, documents and map because this is a way of preserving history or a memory. The letter may have a personal meaning to the artist or to the person being drawn on the letter and therefore is very emotive.
I have focused on Powell's "document" drawings as these have captured my imagination the most. It can be seen that he mainly draws older characters with emphasis on their facial features and wrinkles. His reason is because their faces tell a story which can be seen within the creases and wrinkles. 
My own interpretation of his drawings is the fact that each portrait Powell creates, morphs into the background it has been drawn upon. This then becomes a beautiful marriage between paper and drawing.
A statement issued by Mark powell sates "Both the envelope and individual offer a story of mystery and intrigue, showing the scars of travel, a life lived..."
I love the usage of the word "scars" in this staement. It seems to sum up his reasons or meaning for each portrait in one word. Every portrait or figure has its own individul story. Every figure has lived a life. Powell simply draws their faces to express this life, but this simple drawing seems to provide the viewer with a vast amount of information about the figure in the drawing which the viewer can interpret and ask questions about at their pleasure.
Powell has chosen to keep a distance between the figures he draws and himself. The figures have no personal meaning to him at all, however he trys to morph the picture into its background to somehow unify the two and make them relate. This is an inspiring concept which i wish to portray within my own work.
I have been influenced by the idea of drawing on different surfaces. This adds an extra layer the the picture being drawn. Like Mark Powell, i also aim to do this, however i will draw the faces of people who i know personally such as family members and i shall drawn them on top of letters, poems or documents that have a meaning relating to them. Like Powell, i will also aim to tell a story through my drawings. I want viewers to look at my drawings or paintings and question them.
Throughout this project i have embarked on a journey. Mark Powell will be an inspirational artist alongside Alasdair Thompson who will help me provide a personal meaning to this journey i am on.
I have produced a response to Powell by drawing an image of myself, aged 5 on the top of the financial time news paper. This background has a personal meaning to me as this is the newspaper my father chooses to read. have drawn this in Black Biro and i havee concentrated on proportion and composition. I have added in considerable detail in order to give a realistic effect. I have focused on thelight in the hair and the juxtaposition between the figure and the doll. The doll adds an interesting feeling to the drawing, it makes it more interesting and emotive as it is a typical childs toy. I have used various strokes of line to create form and contours on the face and inthe hair. This is an A3 drawing. I aim to develop these further for my final piece. 
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