Wednesday Portrait Session 3

This is the third, four-hour session of a drawing I started two weeks ago on April 5.

I have finally, just in the last hour of the session, started applying values. I am struck by how much easier it is to make tonal decisions, once I have already made so many decisions about proportion and placement.

Still, despite my hours of attempting to be precise, I have still managed to set the right eye slightly higher than the left. I think it's a minor adjustment, but I am glad I am not any further along with the tonal rendering.

The more charcoal on the page, the more there is to erase.

As you can see, the model has a very striking face. When I asked she said she is half Peruvian, plus a lot of other nationalities including Greek. Something about the deep shape of her chin, and the sculptural quality of her top lip, gives her a classical look.

In other news, construction on the art shed has not begun yet, but I am assured that building will start very soon. In the mean time I'm having fun picking out my skylights. It will be tiny studio, barely 6 feet x 16 feet, but with THREE north-light skylights. I can't wait.

Wednesday Portrait Session 2

This is a continuation of the drawing I started last week. I will flesh it out to a fully toned drawing as the weeks go on, but for now I am still working on capturing the proportions and the shapes in line.

I am itching to start in with the values: The far side of her face is in complete shadow, and the reflection under her chin is especially interesting. But I am trying to be disciplined and not rush ahead.

I erased and re-drew every mark several times today. At one point I wiped out all the features completely and began again. It's a real luxury to have the time to focus on accuracy. Eventually, it would be nice to learn to be both accurate and fast. Someday.

Wednesday Portrait Session 1

I've started attending a drawing group that meets Wednesdays, and yesterday we started a 6-week pose. This is the first stage of the drawing I'll be developing over the next 6 weeks. I spent the first session with the techniques I learned at Juliette's workshop last week: concentrating on angles and proportions to make an accurate armature for the drawing. It's not there yet, but I'll be working on it for at least another session or two before I start the "fun part" - adding values. I'll be posting my progress weekly.

As for the rest of my art progress.... plans for the studio are moving along. I have found a contractor to build my art shed and building should start next week. I'm hoping to move in by the end of April.

In the meantime, I am setting up a temporary studio in our as-yet-unfurnished dining room. But the light is all wrong and it's not a very inspiring space, and I'm still surrounded by boxes. So I'm having a hard time breaking it in.