Rainbow Bisque

Using a graphite stick and a paper towel, I attempted to create a toned surface to begin my drawing. It works well in my charcoal drawings, so I thought it must work well here - and it did! I took too much time in the beginning, so I wasn't able to finish (especially the dark, blank spots where the eyes will go). I think this is a great start.

Today's drawing was done with a 2B pencil, a 4B pencil and a paper towel. My goal was to create a portrait drawing with more than the usual outlines and shapes. I spent my fifteen minutes building up tone with light pencil and smudging it with paper towel (in hindsight, I would rather use tissue for this). It's a slow process - maybe not so well suited for short sessions. I enjoy the challenge. Maybe I'll learn something new from this way of working.

This week didn't hold the same success as the previous two weeks. I feel like I am starting to learn some new things - but learning means stumbling a few (dozen? hundred?) times. The model is laying on a stack of pillows - which is why the legs and feet shapes seem unusual and small. It's beginning to feel like a great time to break out the watercolors again.

I've been away for the pencil for such a long time - I have no idea why. With just a little more time, I think these drawings could develop into something great. Maybe I just need to work more quickly.

Quick portraits from a wine magazine that mysteriously showed up in my mailbox. The faces turned out a little creepy and crooked. The portrait on the bottom is a surprising likeness to the source image - minus the weird stubble.

As a left-handed person with a tendency to smudge pencil, it wasn't difficult for me to make the switch to pen. However, pencil has an unmistakable look and feel that make it difficult to stay away. Admittedly, it was nice to be able to use an eraser to clean up some of the re-stated lines. If my drawing time hadn't ended so abruptly, I probably would have erased the shadow along the chin line (it looks a little too much like a beard).

Not much special to say about today's drawing. This was the best of the bunch. I'll be sticking with charcoal for my Sunday drawings - it seems to be the best way to create something that looks complete.

The model in the photograph was wearing a really interesting pair of pants that reminded me of the girl character (you were free to give her whatever name you wanted) from Secret of Mana . The pose was what grabbed my attention - it just seemed so dynamic.

Glasses are difficult. Faces are difficult. Nothing looks right. I've never been able to draw people. This used to be my mantra - what I would often repeat in my head before beginning any drawing. I have since learned to just try and ignore that part of my brain and draw. I am better than when I started. There's still a long way to go, but I am still excited to keep moving.

It worked!

Warm, grey marker and flair tip pen. I thought I would try combining these too together, but they seem to interact in weird ways. The hard, black edges seem to really point out the proportional problems here. Tomorrow, I would like to try working in reverse - adding the grey marker after the hard lines. It doesn't seem like it would make much of a difference, but it just might be the key to making this combination a success.

The more I use charcoal in my figure drawings, the more I seem to enjoy it. With charcoal, I can apply an overall neutral tone and use a knead-able eraser to lift out lighter areas. These charcoal drawings tend to have a lot more shape and depth than the line drawings I do during the week.

I attempted to use contour lines to describe shadows on the face and neck - they turned out to be too heavy and distracting. These short sketches are a great place for experiments, and I wasn't planning on putting this drawing in a museum - so I'm not upset with how this turned out. I plan on sticking with pens and markers for these short sessions. 15 minutes just doesn't seem like enough time to build up layers and switch pencils. Maybe I need to work on that.

I don't have a clue who this guy is. I got a weird vibe from his photo - and I think that came through in this drawing. I wish I would have had enough time this morning to do another pass with pure black (especially to finish up the hair and pupils). I am one page away from finishing another sketchbook!

Feeling out of sorts on a Monday. Nothing out of the usual - just need to concentrate on what is important this week. The proportions were a little off, but I think the direction and energy of the pose is evident in today's drawing.

I love this pose! It was fun to try and capture the energy of this man at work - focusing all of his own energy into the pencil he drags across the page. I decided to use longer strokes to convey all of the great diagonal lines. I guess I was getting burnt out on portraits. I'll come back to them soon.

Today was one of those days. None of my drawings really came together. The important thing on a day like this is to just keep moving - a "bad" day doesn't negate the things you are proud of or the things you can do in the future.

I found this great photo in a magazine today of a girl with a unique pose and a flowing skirt. I'm surprised I was able to fit everything in and capture the pose in the time that I had. Orange and green seemed like a weird combination at first - but it kind of works. Regretfully, I didn't have enough time to do anything with the face.

Resistance reared its ugly head this morning. I couldn't settle in and get started with my drawings. I had trouble shutting off my inner-critic. In spite of all that, I was able to create this during my break. Seems like a good time to try something different.