I decided to mainly focus on improving my portraits. Truth be told, I am not good at portraits, never have been good at portraits, but desperately want to be good at portraits. Mine generally turn out looking like some bad cartoon character who didn't get good ratings so their show was canceled.
My first class consisted of me drawing a still-life so my instructor could gauge my level of expertise (or lack thereof). To be honest, I abhor still-lifes. I find them boring, time consuming and just the slightest bit annoying. But I rose above these feelings (sort of) and whiled away 2 hours drawing this still-life from various viewpoints. Luckily, my instructor was pleased with my skill level, but also offered a life-changing (for my drawings at least) suggestion.
He explained that my method of shading was best employed for very rough sketches (which is generally all I ever do, so this made sense) and that he knew of a couple better options, which he was quick to teach me.
Anyway, I went back to class today, a new sketch pad, pencils and eraser in my hand and a fixed determination to complete a successful portrait. Or at least a portrait that didn't look like it should be running around with Scooby-Doo solving mysteries.
I found my subject to be willing and able, I did have to pry her out of the magazine first, but she didn't seem to mind.
After excessive measuring to ensure that I drew her features at the correct place, in the correct size, and in the proper relation to one another, I was elated to find that (employed with some fabulous new shading techniques) I was able to create my first portrait that I am actually proud of.
After all my years of art classes, I am satisfied.
I will however, keep working at it.
1 comment:
Lisa, it's a gorgeous picture. You should put it on this article to show how you did with your new shading techniques.
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