Introducing BLACKOUT, my hand-drawn pencil portrait featuring Emily Ratajkowski in a vintage Alexander McQueen black lace face mask.

BLACKOUT is meticulously drawn by hand on bright white paper and took over 30 hours to complete.

For BLACKOUT, model Emily Ratajkowski’s striking features are immersed in a vintage Alexander McQueen black lace face mask inspired from the Spring 2012 Ready-to-Wear fashion show.

The intricate dark web-like lace of the face mask transforms her by concealing the upper face, creating an ethereal, slightly menacing, and fetishistic elegance central to the pencil portrait.

Every detail, from the intricate lace of the face mask to the distinctive form and sensuality of the lips, was drawn entirely by hand by pencil.

At its artistic core, BLACKOUT represents blocking out the endless loop of artificial noise through mental fortitude and a relentless passion for what you love.


While reading Emily Ratajkowski"s New York Times bestselling book My Body, I was pleasantly surprised to learn she grew up in Encinitas, California. 


Discovering Emily is from Encinitas made it the perfect place to introduce BLACKOUT.


Artwork framed: 36” x 30”


Photographed near the Self-Realization Fellowship Meditation Gardens in Encinitas, CA (US)

Artist: Bryan Barnes
Model: Emily Ratajkowski
Fashion House: Alexander McQueen
Pencils: Pentel of America
Paper: Canson Paper