Drawing Eyes

Portraiture is not my strong point, so over the next few weeks I will be studying each feature of the face. The eyes demand attention in portraiture and capturing the key elements is crucial. The pupils and iris' need to be round, the highlights positioned just right, the eye needs to sit in the eye socket and the lids enveloping the spherical round shape.

Human Portraiture

There is a small group of artists who belong to a yahoo group called "Drawing Line to Life". We started the group to study Mike Sibley's book of the same title. I am the moderator and over the last few months have started to review Mike's book again. We have reached Chapter 8 where Mike demonstrates drawing his granddaughter Charlotte. We have decided to expand the topic to encompass human portraiture.

This is such a big topic that we have decided to it break down into smaller segments. As we finish up on our first topic, eyes, I thought it might be beneficial to layout the schedule for the next few weeks. I would like to welcome anyone interested in exploring the topic of drawing human portraiture to join us in our discussions, step-by-steps and sharing of our progress.

Feb 1-13 Eyes
Feb 14-27 Nose
Feb 28 - Mar 13 Mouth
Mar 14-27 Ears
Mar 28 - Apr 10 Hair
Apr 11-24 Head
Apr 25 - May 8 Hands
May 9-22 Clothed Figure Drawing

I am the first to admit that I am not a portrait artist, but I am using this opportunity to stretch my skills and I hope you all join me in this journey into human portraits. After we have exhausted this segment on portraiture, we will resume our study of Mike's book with Chapter 9.

I would like to invite you to join us.......

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DrawingLinetoLife/

Diane

IA Landscape

Iowa has beautiful, graceful valleys that let you see into the distance forever.

Tree & Rock Study

This one is completed.....

I have started another nature study. This one is based on a reference photo from my son's trip to Yosemite. My son knows how much I love trees, so he made sure to take some photos just for me. The image to the right is the original photo.








By cropping the image, the viewer's focus is locked into the area under the tree. There is so much amazing detail hidden deep in the shadows.. There are so many textures to explore - the pine needles, the rough bark, the rocks and ground - then add splashes of sunlight peaking through. Since most of the area is in shadows, it is also giving me the opportunity to work in mid to darker tones.

The paper is Fabriano watercolor hot press. It has a unique texture that takes a bit to get use to. The softer grades of 2B-4B leave a grainy texture, but when layered with HB then 2H on top, the texture becomes a rich mid-tone. The paper seems to dictate building up lots of layers of graphite to get the right texture and values. The size is 9x12.

Here is an up-close section:

Beautiful Fall Day

After 2 weeks of crummy weather (cold, dreary and rainy....did I mention lots of rain?), today is a beautiful fall day! I bundled up in a winter coat since it is only 35 degrees out and the wind is chilling to the bone, and took my camera out and about.

Along with a cold nose, nettles all over my jacket, a little mud on my shoes....I've got pictures of milkweed pods, fence posts, pine cones, tree roots and a stream, an old barn, rusty hinges and hooks.

It's great to take a break from the day to day grind and take a walk in a park or by a pasture stream (or even a road-side ditch) and get rejuvenated.

Portland Head - Stormy

This is a small sketch - 4x4" experimenting with graphite powder. It's messy but can be controlled to a point. I used a paint brush and paper towel to apply the powder. I then used my blu-tack eraser, white plastic eraser and battery operated eraser to pull out the whites.

Definitely some possibilities as it gives a very painterly feel to the graphite medium.

Rocky Creek

Here is the finished work. I've added a bit more shadow to the eroded bank and adjusted some of the tones through out the drawing.

This is located in Yellowstone Canyon, Wyoming - Seven Mile Creek.

Here is my latest update.




Here is a glimpse of the next challenge I have imposed on myself.

A co-worker's son went hiking this spring in Wyoming and shared some of his photos with me. The reference photo is not the best so my first challenge is to just try to make sense of the scene.

I like most of the placement of rocks, water and the tree to the left but I wanted to change the composition from portrait to landscape. I've done some preliminary sketches to work out the general layout.

My second challenge is to create a pleasing tonal composition by ignoring the diffused lighting in the ref photo but making my own composition. I've started working on 'testing' out the tonal relationships but I'm a bit stuck on the eroded dirt bank. I'm not sure if I should go darker or lighter as this area is in the center of scene. The rocks are a bit too round and I think a few more sharper edges/planes will add more interest.