Monday, April 12, 2010

Self Portrait Cont.

Progress... I seem to move quicker when animal fur isn't involved! The first picture is my work space. I like to have the photo image higher than my work. Most of the time the Mylar graph is pulled back so the shadows of the face are easier to see. Speaking of shadows, either the lighting was treating me very unkind or winter definitely had taken its tole on me when this picture was taken. I have a dark circle under my eye. This must have been the week that I couldn't find my under the eye concealer ;0) ... Yikes! Well, I can even be thankful for being exhausted, because it sure made the area around the eye easier to define.

Oddly enough, the eye was the last feature that was rendered on the face. It occurred to me later that this was taking a big chance, since I have never had to draw an eye from a side point of view. I am very happy with how it turned out. My main priority was to keep the life spots as clean as possible. Now the trick will be to not smear them while working on the hair.

It has been relaxing to work on smooth skin again. Large sections can be worked on at a time. (When working on the fur of animals, I have to keep the sections so much smaller to maximize the detail.) It is a funny feeling at the end of a drawing session to stand back and realize that it is my profile starting to come to life on paper. One of my son's friends (who apparently is easy to impress ;0) ! ) looked at the drawing the other night and said it was amazing. I looked up from my drawing board and replied, " I know I am." That made for a good laugh! I can't imagine what he thought of me drawing myself... It is kind of funny to think about, but my son's friend has known me since he was 2 years old (18 yrs.), and he has never known that I could even draw...

4 comments:

Reflections From Life Art Blog said...

Now let's see how you draw your hair. For me that is the challenge!

Funny, fur goes much faster for me than skin. :p You know you can change what the photo reads. You can remove the dark circles you see on your photo. That's the beauty of art! :D

Looking forward to seeing how you handle the hair.

Nancy

Brenda said...

You know my work Nancy. I haven't let go of 'showing it like it is' yet. That and the fact it didn't look as bad on paper! Now if you had a program to do that when I wake up in the morning ;0) !! Onward to the hair....

Laure Ferlita said...

Wow, you are brave! I always put in the eyes first. Looking forward to the finish.

Brenda said...

Thanks Laure! I don't know if it was bravery or stupidity, but I'll take the bravery since it worked out well in the end!