Marc Bodie was born in Newport, South Wales and currently lives and works in Wiltshire. His expressive drawings convey emotions and situations we can find ourselves in. He takes the idiom of the self portrait as a starting point to develop a moving and understanding dialogue between the finished piece and the viewer.
“Drawing is my first love. It is the foundation for every aspect of my practice, be it quick gestural sketch ideas for my sculpture pieces to closely observed detail work on a portrait or anatomical study. The complexity of emotions is the main driving force behind all I do.It is the portrait that has captured me at the moment and it is Rembrandt that has the most powerful influence on me. Whether I am working in charcoal, pastels or pens etc the important thing for me is to get across the emotional aspect of the work. I endeavour to achieve this through closely observed areas of focused detail that move out into small then bold gestural marks. This also enables the viewer to fill the gaps where by they also become part of the creative process which makes for greater engagement. I would on occasion even obliterate areas in order to train the focus on the features where I think the feelings of the piece are more strongly visible. It is through the use of the self portrait mostly that I feel I am more able to engage with the development of a piece, I will even change aspects of my features in order to keep a fresh approach to a drawing”.
Marc has exhibited throughout the UK since 1993. His work is held in numerous private collections across the UK and abroad.
