Kerriann...

A portrait of my best friend Kerri... At first I was debating whether or not to create this using pencil or charcoal or both; in the end I mostly rendered everything in charcoal with touches of 8B Graphite pencil for the facial features and delicate skin tone. After everything I've realized that regardless of whether or not it was rendered in charcoal or pencil it is the actual photo reference I'd like to change.... The next one I'd like to create will be an emotional shot of mostly her face and probably neckline and shoulders with her eyes all done up in cried on makeup but with no crying expression. I have to make sure the lighting is done right though and that there's enough contrast. When I really envision it, I feel like it could almost be a really wonderful lightly toned painting, with soft blues and green, but for now I'll stick to the original idea.

A fresh start...

A portrait of Eliza Dushku I finished last week or maybe it was two weeks ago?... I haven't been feeling too well so I've lost track of time unfortunately. It's a simple charcoal piece a little less than 14"x 17". I'd really love to do more black and white charcoal portraits; however finding people to use for reference when I'm never really around people anymore is just difficult. Celebrities are good practice but in the end unknown people are better; they actually hold some sort of mystery I believe that makes people want to know more about them and look harder at the picture in attempts to figure something out...

Underwater Image Update

An updated image of the underwater picture I've been working on for some time now. At least the whole surface is covered at this point; however there is still so much work for me to do... I'd like to make the entire back round darker in order to make the diver pop better. Defining the trailing bubbles a bit more would probably help too. Ah well, off to draw more!

A little slice of progression...

I added in the bathing suit pieces and many more bubbles. The bubbles trailing the hair are nowhere near done and require much more definition. Contrast in the back round needs to be stronger but I am going to revise that later on... and the hair definitely needs to be fixed.

The most peaceful place I know...

If I could miraculously grow gills, trust me I would... No it's not mermaid envy or some sort of childhood fantasy related crap. Honestly, being underwater, in water, even around it is such a relief; like any weight from stress and life in general is being lifted.

With that said.... I added the image above to show my newest W.I.P.... My aim was not to create another self-portrait, even though I remain the easiest person to use for reference (which I'll need to change). Luckily my face isn't apparent so there's no need to focus on the who but rather the what... A dive into the water is one of the only abrupt actions involved in voluntarily being in it, once you're under though the rest of the world doesn't exist, it's quiet, even thoughts are silent for those few moments. Actual peace... I can't wait 'til this piece is complete, but I refuse to rush it which may take some patience and restraint =)...

Sooo here are my W.I.P.'s of my "Aviator Dreams" piece. It's 12x12 and definitely reflects my recent obsession with water! As of right now I'm happy with it, although I like images with much more contrast; I've come to terms with the fact that this particular one doesn't call for any darker or blackened areas so this level of contrast fits...

Currently I'm working on an actual underwater image that Tommy took with an underwater disposable I bought... I need to find more people to use for reference images. I'd love to have more diversity when it comes to the portraits I create and would very much prefer to not actually have a portfolio of self-portraits. Luckily there's no view of the face in the next one. =)

Back Piece Portrait

I created this affected self-portrait as an experiment. At first, I simply wanted to see what I would look like with an angel wings back piece; however as I drew the piece became more of an experiment of of contrast and gradient control.

It's been FAR too long since I spent my time drawing pencil or charcoal portraits and I intended to create some things that are more self-expressive than anything I've been exploring for classes. After all this time I've finally reverted back to what I first fell in love with drawing, this will be my direction...

Not entirely sure if this piece is done. Aside from merely having perfectionist and self-doubt issues, and although I'm very pleased with the contrast, I think the detail in the feathers needs work. There isn't enough.