“Portrait of Thom Yorke”
Made as a gift for a family member, this illustration takes inspiration from Radiohead album covers to create an abstract portrait of Thom Yorke.
Watercolor on burnt paper with Acrylic; December 17th 2021.
Stanley Donwood is the artist credited with several Radiohead album covers, which often mix the messy texture of physical media with the abstract rigidity of digital aesthetics. I made the top of the piece inspired by Radiohead's "In Rainbows" cover, while the bottom is inspired by the "Kid A" album cover.
I wanted this portrait to still be easy to distinguish as Thom Yorke while being reflective of the work that was driving this as a gift in the first place. Hence, having the watercolor portrait be truer to the subject's appearance than the rest of the piece. The burned edges was a fun experimental touch, and made me so nervous to actually do.
Here's the piece put together in frame.
Here's an isolated scan of the final piece.