Portrait Artist Combing Knitting With Digital Tools Like Drawing, Animation, And 3D Printing

Faith Humphrey Hill is a portrait artist combining knitting, drawing, and digital tools in an effort to create connections between viewer and subject though they may be strangers.

Knit portraits are a blend of traditional techniques and contemporary digital tools. The knit portraits consist of a freehand crosshatch drawing with a photo of a hand-knitted fabric layered underneath. Some images are taken further adapted into animations or recreated as a 3D print that's layered over the physical knit fabric.

"I came to my knit prints through several influences merging. Initially, I was exhibiting my crosshatch portraits and found that viewers were curious about the portraits but there was a disconnect between viewer and subject. Meanwhile, when I’d pull out my knitting projects people would comment on their experience or memories of knitting. I reflected on the words that I was hearing and experiencing with knitting. Words like: warmth, comfort, protection, hugs, love, meditation, connection, flow, and peace. I wanted the faces in my portraits to reflect the concepts that knitting represents. For viewers to feel warmth and comfort with my portrait art even though the face in the picture may be a stranger to them. I then started to merge the two mediums. Knitting is included as a layer in my work for what it visually represents. I want to encourage the viewer to reflect on their experience with knitting while also learning about the person in the picture. Through this process, I hope the viewer discovers some common ground with the portrait."

Each piece starts with a finished freehand digitally drawn portrait created in layers on the computer. One of the layers is a wash of color (“under” layer) that the crosshatch drawing layer is above. That “under” layer is turned into a knitting pattern. Then she knits the fabric either by hand or on an antique knitting machine. The knit fabric consists of 3-6 colors of yarn and incorporates techniques such as mirror knitting, intarsia, and stranded knitting. The finished knit fabric is photographed and brought in as the new “under” layer to the crosshatch layer.

The faces in the portraits are real people that are drawn from reference photos.

"I like working from reference photos because I want to capture reality and 'meet' new people."

The reference photos used are from an artist to an artist network where users share snapshots taken for other artists in the community to use in their artwork. This provides a global source of images.

"I like that they are strangers to me. I don’t know their names, where they live, how old they are, or what they do for a living. I use my eyes alone to connect and get to know them. In order to capture their expression, I often find myself mimicking them so in a way the finished portrait is a bit of me, and since I often draw while out around people I can’t help but think those voices and stories that surround me make their way into each portrait."

In the end, each knit portrait becomes more than one person.

Faith Humphrey Hill received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a Masters in Arts Management from Columbia College. For 20 years, she held leadership positions in galleries, museums, and community arts organizations. In 2015, she gave art-making her full attention and started the website, www.dartily.com [dartily=art+daily]. Through this process, Faith started to create the work she's best known for: portrait artwork that combines knitting, drawing, and digital tools.

More info: dartily.com