In Shoey Nam’s Loved and Labored series, which we recently spotted over at Juxtapoz, the London-based illustrator depicts some of his famous writers in lovely delicate line drawings. Even more interesting is the fact that each portrait is at least two — and sometimes three — portraits in one, depicting the subject at various stages of their writing life or even just in opposing moods, often with one version of the writer peering over the shoulder of the other, reminding him of his presence. Nam writes, “I chose to illustrate a set of literature figures, as writers have the tendency to carry a certain haggardness and cynicism of the world on their faces, which are often reflected in their words…. I tried to focus on depicting the figures’ mannerisms, such as the look on the face when concentrated, the way one smokes, holds objects, as well as the lines/traces/marks formed on faces that suggest their habitual face expressions.” Click through to check out Nam’s portraits of famous writers, and then be sure head over to his website to check out a similar series of musicians, plus even more of his work.
Albert Camus. Image credit: Shoey Nam.
Kurt Vonnegut. Image credit: Shoey Nam.
Allen Ginsberg. Image credit: Shoey Nam.
Margaret Atwood. Image credit: Shoey Nam.
Ernest Hemingway. Image credit: Shoey Nam.
Tennessee Williams. Image credit: Shoey Nam.
Günter Grass. Image credit: Shoey Nam.
Aldous Huxley. Image credit: Shoey Nam.
Jack Kerouac. Image credit: Shoey Nam.
J.G. Ballard. Image credit: Shoey Nam.
Anthony Burgess. Image credit: Shoey Nam.