Hello c. 1920

Rolf Armstrong made this drawing, 'Hello', sometime in the first half of the 20th century, probably with pastels and charcoal. You can tell that it was built up through a process of layering and blending colors. The texture in this piece really grabs me. The figure is rendered with a delicate touch, yet there's a roughness around her, almost like a halo, where the artist uses broad strokes of pastel. You can see how he laid down the colors, one over the other, to create depth and shadow. Look at how the powdery white strokes contrast with the smooth skin tones. I love how Armstrong uses these marks to create a sense of movement and energy, which really brings the figure to life. It's like she’s emerging from a dream. For me, there's something about the way artists like Tamara de Lempicka and Erte handled similar subjects, all of them seem to be exploring ways of depicting glamour and sophistication while hinting at something more personal and vulnerable underneath the surface.