Seriousness Expressed-Self Portrait

Seriousness.  That and concentration is what I see in my self portrait.  I tried to look mischievous and even have a slight smile, but concentrating on what I was seeing on the mirror took all that away.  I look tired too.  I am going to post this as my new Facebook picture and see what everyone else thinks.  It has taken a year to get to this point.  Last year about this time I bought the book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.  My sister-in-law recommended it to me to assist in getting me back into drawing.  I am so glad she did.

Now my next goal is to keep a drawing journal and to draw in it several times a week.  I also what to use it to experiment with different techniques and materials.

Watercolors

My first attempt with watercolors.  I bought a set of watercolor pencils.  I figured they would be easier to work with than the tube or cake.  One thing is nice is that you can wet a brush or sponge and do a background wash or soften the color.  I did a wash on the coyote and after it dried I used the pencils dry on top.  It would have been better with watercolor paper instead of moleskin notebook and more variety in colors.  The paper did warp some after the wash and the coyote turned out more yellow than I wanted.

This is my title page in my art journal.  I saw a picture in my husbands' hunting newspaper with this coyote leaping up in the air after his prey, and thought it would be perfect for the cover on my journal. I don't think it is too bad for my first attempt.

Erasing to Self Discovery

Doing this exercise has been hard.  At first I sat there and argued that the assignment was impossible.  How can I use an eraser to draw myself without drawing first the edges?  Drawing just the axis of the head and the spacing  between the eyes and chin made this assignment difficult.

I started with the space between the lips and nose and worked to the cheek and then the neck.  When I got to the eye I started to use a pencil to define areas better.

Even though I look at myself in the mirror everyday, to look now and see the different shapes and lines and to draw them makes one become more aware of them self. I hope to get some time later this week so I can finish.

Cars

In the past I have never drawn a car.  I was more into horses, animals, and trees to draw machines.  I drew parts while I was in drafting classes, and homes and building in architecture, but not machines. 

My co-worker, Ray is restoring a classic car, when he seen my other drawings asked if I could draw his car.  I told him I wasn't sure, but would give it a try.  I decided to try by drawing parts of the car in the photograph.  I think it might be good to get a different photo of the car as the side exposed is in total shade.  I am going to try the grill work next.

Erasure Drawing

I found this technique difficult.  My eraser didn't want to cooperate.  It would erase either too little or beyond what I wanted. It was interesting and I will at least be doing it again when I draw my self portrait.  I hope it becomes easier. I also find it hard to do a drawing from a small picture compared to real life.  I need to schedule more time for my drawing.  I think I will start with 45 minutes 3 times a week.  I think I will try to work on it Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday and see how it goes.

The Eye

Eye for one, decided to do a light sketch of my eye. (Ha Ha)  My next drawing is taking more time than I planned so I decided to do a few quick sketches to break up the work.

Trying to draw with an eraser has been difficult.  I almost have my next portrait done.  I need about another hour or two.  I find that the eraser either takes off too much graphite, or not enough, or in the wrong place.  I hope to get better with this technique before doing my own portrait.

Portrait of Picasso in Charcoal

Recreating a self portrait of Picasso in charcoal was challenging.  It took me less time than my last drawing...about 45 minutes compared to 2 hours.  I believe that part of my problem is the paper.  It is very hard to get an even tone in either graphite or charcoal.  Tomorrow I will be working on my drawing board instead of the workbook so I should see a difference.  I am going to do a graphite portrait from the book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.  The drawing uses a medium dark toned ground and the use of an eraser to bring out the light negative spaces.  It should be interesting.  Soon I will be doing my self portrait.