New paintings and regular art updates.
Just a black and white sketch of a face which I then did a small edit on through the photodirector app.
Yes I am a bit tired. But this is more about trying to draw emotions without a reference image. I can see a lot of mistakes, particularly where I’ve mirrored the image. The nose does not sit right, the shading is wrong. But I like using cross hatching. I like thin pens. I don’t think its too bad.
Artrage oils and photodirector used to make these slightly worried faces in a crowd. Perhaps I should have given one of them a mask? They certainly feel crammed together. And what are they watching? Why are they there? Is it something pleasant or unpleasant? Who can say. From the depths of my mind to the page. I sometimes don’t know what’s coming!
You don’t have to add colour to all of a painting or watercolour sketch. With these two portraits I made marks where the shadows were and left other areas blank. The result still gave shape to the image but allows you to do something quickly (ten minutes). Using a limited palette also makes it easier. If you are not mixing a lot of colours you can create some interesting effects in a fast way.
This is college work, made for a daily sketchbook of observational drawings and paintings.
Faces, I love them, portraits, doodles, there’s something that makes me draw them. Trying to get features right. I’ve always drawn eyes as well. I try to get them right, but I have a default eye or face, the way as I sketch I try and it from memory. Things like the size of the eyes. The eyelids, the shape of lips. The size and shape of eyebrows. Hairline. I find hair the most difficult. I need more practice, even after sixty years!
Ten minute portrait studies with black paint splodges from bubble wrap. I used watercolour and black ink pens for the portraits. We did some minoprint a few weeks back but I found gluing down bits of paper then drawing over the top difficult so tried this instead. It also makes you consider where to paint the face!
We were using found items to add interest. My favourite is the pot of brushes obscuring the face of one of the sitters.
Today’s sketches…
Today’s sketch portraits, I used cut up mono prints that I had made for the print workshop earlier in the week. I glued bits down then added black calligraphy pen and fine liner, then graphite from a graphite stick. I had to unstick one bit of paper and redo it because it was wrong and overlapped bits of the drawing. …
Reflection of two ducks, turned through 90°. Somehow it became an otter or a beaver? Eyes, nose, mouth, pale fur. Maybe even some ears? Above it I can see some sort of dark eyed creature. Two large eyes and a pale button nose? Arms stretching out to either side of the picture. Ready to pounce on the otter head?
So many questions, imagination can be surprising, finding odd creatures in pattern, Pareidolia….
Digital faces, played with in the Layout app. I think this is a couple of years old. I think I did the original drawing in ArtRage oils. To me this feels ancient and modern. I’m thinking of iconic mediaeval paintings. Also with the faces without eyes I somehow think of Heironymous Bosch? Weird images. The columns also make me think about columns of figures in stained glass windows. Each face is the same image, imagined and representing a female face. I did not try to interpret it or give an explanation when I made this image. Perhaps I needed a couple of years to think about it!
Quick sketches with ink, soft pastels and ink splatter… I liked the poses people did. Its good that people enjoy sitting as well as drawing. On one I tried using ink splatter, I don’t know why? Experiment!
Having fun sketching my cohort on the college course I’m doing. Learning to draw even faster. Most of these are five minute sketches using a graphite stick. I had fun!
