Another one checked off...

I'm glad to finally be done with this one.  It's funny to admit but the part that gave me the most trouble was the blindfold.  The rest of the face and neck went down pretty well but I must have erased the folds of that blindfold three times before I was happy with their placement.  I also had a bit of trouble getting the values to gradually blend together in some spots.  The paper, for some reason, just seemed to have more grittiness than the other two sheets I had used previously.  I learned that you can knock down some of that tooth before you begin the drawing by using a tissue or napkin to rub the surface in small circles using moderate pressure (be sure to overlap the circles).  After you're done be sure to brush away any lint left behind on the surface.  I'm pretty happy with the result and the play of light and shadow across the pose is exactly what I had in mind when I grabbed my camera.

Progress...

Here is some progress of the current drawing.  I think it's really starting to come together though the blindfold may give me some problems.  I've been spending quite a bit of time evening out the values while also trying to keep them distinct.  I remember, years ago, a painting teacher telling me about an exhibit he had seen.  In the exhibit was a portrait drawing by Jacob Collins.  He said that from across the room you could see every subtle nuance in the drawing but as he walked up to it the values all blended together.  The strokes were done with such skill that, up close, the eye couldn't find a resting spot.  I see myself paying more and more attention to these types of things each time I step in front of the easel.  Anyway, here it is so far.

Back on track...

Things have been going pretty well since making the decision to reshoot the side pieces.  After working on that downward glance for such a long time I wanted to take a break and move to the other portrait.  I was able to pick out a photo pretty easily from the forty or so that I took.  The block-in went smooth and then it was down to adding the values and bringing some form to it.  It's still very early but I have faith it's going to come together in the end.  I can already see a lot more life in the pose, more substance than what I had previously chosen.  Thanks for taking a look.

A minor setback...

So, I was nearing the end of the second drawing of the "Reasonings" series and I noticed that it wasn't pulling me in as much as I had hoped.  It wasn't really a surprise to me.  All along I had felt the pose wasn't what it could have been, that there was more to it that I was missing.  Even a year ago I felt this way but I thought maybe it would come together as it progressed along.  I didn't want to make a final judgement based on a drawing that wasn't even a quarter finished.  But now that it's in the final stages I feel like the middle piece will greatly take over the two sides and that was never my intention.  In a triptych such as this I feel each piece must be looked at as an individual as well as a piece of the whole.  As much as it hurts to begin again I feel I have no other choice.  I went against my feelings for too long on this piece and this is the outcome.  I hope it acts as a reminder to trust myself more often.  I'll be shooting new reference photos for the side pieces and will start fresh.

Another drawing...

Here's a drawing I finished the other day.  I had been working on it for months but never found much time to really just sit down and get into it.  It's graphite as usual and I tried to lose most signs of hatching to really focus on the smoothness of the form.  I've been trying to improve my transitions recently and I think they're getting better.  Whenever I'd work on it I felt like my eyes were able to catch the value changes a little easier than the time before.  I hope to do some more figurative pieces along these lines soon.  I always get such a kick out of playing with poses and lighting - the choices are endless.  So much to say and so many ways to say it.

Once

Hello again, I don't really have any good reason for the long delay.  Life, I guess, has just been getting me down as of late.  I have produced a little work but it has been very slow and far between.  I haven't painted in around eleven months.  I see the brushes every day unused, the bottles of various oils waiting to be mixed into some magical recipe that will make the paint sing.  I miss that.  Almost like you miss a person.  Anyway, this is me trying to find my way back.  Here is a drawing I made a few months ago for a friend's daughter whose pet passed away very suddenly. I tried to work in a very soft manner to give it a "dreamlike quality" if that makes sense.  While I had some difficulty with the value range in the photo (it was taken in direct lighting with an iPod) I really felt that the pose was spot on for what I wanted to do.  Thanks for taking a look.  All my best to you.

Second drawing underway...

Here is the progress so far on the second piece.  I'm really trying to make sure all three portraits are the same size and use value scales that don't separate them too much.  Since these two pieces are drawn as profiles rather than head-on portraits I'm playing with the idea of leaving some of the head unfinished. I feel like this approach would read better than to have a dark mass take over most of the head.  Of course, then I need to figure out how much I can leave unfinished and still get the look across that I'm going for.  It's also important to me that all three pieces have that soft, drifting feel.  I want it to feel like the faces might fade away after a short time.  This one certainly isn't coming together as easily as the first but I think I can pull it together in the end.

Process of Reasonings

I have been working on an idea for a short series of drawings for some time.  I first came up with the idea of "Reasonings" a few years ago after witnessing some events unfold and seeing the reactions people had as they searched for a cause.  At the time the concept was probably too fresh in my mind because I couldn't figure out how to express the idea on paper without it going off on some tangent.  Finally I realized the most basic way would probably be the best and so the drawings began.  So far I have the second drawing done and am using it as a sort of template to match my values for the other two that will go on either side of it.  I have a quick breakdown of this drawing below.

So, I began with taking some photos to use as reference shots since it would be rather difficult to draw while my eyes were covered with fabric (haha).  After that, I grabbed a sheet of Canson Mi-Tientes eggshell colored paper, flipped it to the smoother side, and blocked in the basic shapes.  With each line I tried to grab the correct angle of the features and then the size.

Next I began adding value to the face and neck.  In this early stage I really tried to push the softness of the drawing.  I wanted the shadows to just come together in a natural way instead of showing the hand that made them.  I ended up taking some of my other drawings out to compare every now and then.  The values were added layer by layer using an f and b pencil.  I made sure to establish which areas would be the darkest shadows and which would be the lightest highlights.  I also took advantage of the edge of my chin that almost gets lost in the shadow of my neck.  I think that small detail really added a lot to the piece as it progressed along.

Here I began shading in the wrapping over my eyes.  I didn't want to make it too "filled-in" but I wanted there to be enough substance to make it real.  I made it a point to only let the pencil graze the surface of the paper to avoid any indenting or harsh glare that can happen when the light catches graphite the wrong way.  The neck was also brought a bit further to match the level of the face.

Now it was time for the hair so I blocked in some dark patches to give me somewhere to begin.  I kept the hairline very soft like the facial features and tried to give the impression of depth by varying the amount of paper that showed through in certain spots.  At the top of the head I added a few wisps of hair to give it a little style and add detail.  I had to be careful not to go overboard with this step since too much detail would have ruined the softness I had worked so hard to achieve.

The final image as it currently stands.  I did some tweaking here and there to bring everything to the same level of completion.  Overall, I'm really happy with how it turned out.  As I get further along with the other two pieces I may touch up a few things so that they are all seen as interconnected.  

The beginning of a still life

I began a simple still life recently and thought it would be worth posting about.  Using the shadow box I constructed out of black foam core I purchased a piece of wine colored fabric and laid it inside as a backdrop.  I then removed the mandible from a life-size plastic skull and placed it against the inner wall of the box so it gave me a three-quarter view.  I felt that it needed something else so I added a glass bottle that has a green tinge to it.  Almost immediately after drawing it in I realized the bottle wasn't working for me.  I plan to replace it with a smaller bottle standing straight up with colored liquid inside. I feel like that setup will make better use of the space and also add a little more interest.  Below is a shot of the painting so far.

A different approach

I recently drew a portrait and enjoyed every minute of it!  Seeing as it had been about a year and a half since I had done a finished drawing I was a little hesitant to get started but so happy with the result.  For this piece I used graphite pencils and toned paper.  Below I have posted some images of the various stages I went through to show the mistakes I made early on and the tweaks I made to remedy them.  I also experimented a bit with the way I drew it which felt both freeing and scary.  At the beginning I had planned on drawing a straight forward portrait but as I got further along with it I decided to emphasize the different stages and leave some areas as a block-in.  While it could have been done differently I am rather proud of this experimentation and want to explore it further in the future.  Thanks for stopping by...

Simple block-in drawn in graphite.
Photo reference used throughout.  A
good amount of time was spent to
ensure the proportions were accurate.

Starting the initial shading.  This is
where it starts to get fun.  I always work
very light and build up the values in
layers just like when I paint.

Continued the shading process.  I make
it a habit to constantly compare one area
to another to help ensure I don't get too
off course.  Even when using pencil
mistakes can leave a lasting impression.  I'm
 still making small tweaks here and there
 such as the contour of her left cheek bone.

At this point I was really pleased with
how it was coming out.  I had realized
from the above step that her right eye
was too far down so I moved her eyebrow
a bit higher to give it more of an arch and
pulled her eyelashes down in line with
those of her left eye.

Some areas were getting very dark so I
had to pull them back.  I used a chamois
to lighten the hair on the right side of her
face.  This is also where I started to play
 with the idea of stylizing her hair.

The final result!
I emphasized more hair on her left side
to help her face come forward more.  I also
softened her jaw line to diminish the focus
and bring it back to her eyes.