Hi Jean,

Here's a detail, though I'm not sure with the pixelation if it shows much. To get the smoothness in these drawings I'll lay down a value for a particular area, almost always using a very sharp point (my trusty electric pencil sharpener is always at hand). There will be a certain roughness to it and I may see some individual strokes. So I then go into that area and "hit" all the little light spots to bring them in line with the overall value of that particular passage. If I keep doing this, I can get it to look smooth as velvet. It's tedious work - I feel a bit like a surgeon when I'm in this mode - but, for me, the end result is worth it. I kind of just "zone out" when I'm doing this kind of rendering. I will, of course, often step back to see what I've done and where I'm going.

My goal is to achieve a kind of "glow" by really nailing the values and the transitions between values. For me, it's all about values and edges. Nothing more than that. As I see it, subtlety is beauty. I love doing portraits because there is a universe of subtleties that is a human face. Subtleties of lighting, value transitions, edges, highlights, as well as the expression, emotion of the subject. It's my job just to notice as much of that as possible.

I do think somewhere down the road I'll get tired of working this way and opt for a looser, "less fanatically contolled" way of working. It's very time consuming and, at times, downright boring. But so far, I'm pleased with the results so I keep doing it.

David

Thanks David,

Your drawing actually has the texture of skin; it reminds me of what Marvin Mattleson can do with paint. That glow is beautiful and it appears you are a master at it. You actually have no lines in it that I can see. I may try this but won't guarantee I'll post the result. Thanks again, it's inspiring.

Jean

David

This is very inspirational stuff. I bought some charcoal a while ago but haven't used it yet. I didn't know about charcoal pencils so I

Hi Kevin

Thanks for the comments. I've actually started painting again. I haven't done an oil painting in about 12 years so I'm kind of rusty. But BOY, how challenging is painting? I love it, and I'm up for the challenge, but I know I've got a lot to learn. I'm working on 3 paintings (portraits) currently. I think you're right that by working in several mediums, it'll all get more interesting. I'm not totally bored doing the charcoal portraits ( if I was, I wouldn't do them), but just sometimes, especially when dealing with backgrounds (and braids!).

And yes, music is great to work by. I enjoy many kinds of music, but I'm finding that good classical music is best to work by. It's just so timeless, or maybe I like that it makes me feel I'm painting in a different era. It's nice. This last one probably was about 40 - 50 hours. Jolanda 1 was more like 60 - 70. And yes, I'm looking forward to posting my first paintings to get some feedback. By the way I tried to get to your site but haven't had any luck yet. I'll keep trying.

Nice to make your acquaintance!

David

David

I'm finding the whole process a challenge at the moment due to a lack of practice over the years. I hope it