Eric Hurbina

Film and acting inspire me to compose and illustrate scenes, characters, or images from film. “My current body of work reflects some of the feelings that come from viewing films, and explores the themes, ideas and structures that can be found in them.”

My work sometimes displays iconic, whimsical, touching, or interesting scenes from film on paper in black and white or color. I invest personal time and fondness in selecting a film source made for each image, and I think about whether these choices are easily recognizable or obscure.Some are contemporary examples of film and others have long histories and interesting backgrounds. I like bringing the characters or roles into a new, still medium. By drawing it, I am honoring what inspires me. Film has endured as an inspiration and influence from my childhood and into my adult life.

I incorporate a mixture of graphite pencil or charcoal in early sketches and full black and white rendering. I use chalk pastel, pastel pencils, and a mixture of blending materials on paper with certain textures to capture lighting or tone. My use of tonal paper references the brown filter often used in western filmmaking. The mark-making or graininess of charcoal and pastel often simulate film grain, or reference it. Film often captures the expressiveness of the human figure in a single moment, there is a fondness for this also reflected in my work.

My work is a reference and homage to my influences as an artist. I appreciate the craftsmanship that goes into filmmaking and acting. The characters and cinematography capture moments and instill powerful feelings that I consider as I translate them in a different medium.I have also recognized that films from previous periods, are glimpses of values and ideas that aren’t mine but both persist and at the same time generate nostalgia for the past.