profile: drawing.
 

It's been a long time since I didn't draw more than very quick drawings from life.
This one is not from life, and I had all the time I needed to work on the delicate values...
16" X 12", Charcoal and red chalk.

Marina,
This drawing has the solidity of an oil painting. I am amazed of your control of values and textures and that it is done with only red chalk and charcoal.
I also like the 2 dimensionality in it that makes it suitable to be viewed at any distance.

Marina,

Just as Allan said, it's quite amazing the fullness and depth you've created using these limited means. Because the values and transitions are so perfect, I'm seeing colors that aren't there. It looks like a painting. WOW!

David

That's amazing to see what you've achieved in this drawing. Congrats.

I think this is lovely, Marina. So nice to see drawings posted, too. I think the face is really sensitively handled. There'a a lot of feeling for your subject coming through, and your marks are all particular to this individual face (i.e not generalised into an ideal) and I really like that. Your marks are so sure, And, obviously, the fur is wonderfully furry, too.

Marina,

The fur, the hair, the skin are all described skilfully, but they are subordinate to her spirit, so rather than reading this piece as a catalog of your skills, I look beyond them right to the captivating face of this girl. It is clear that you had a total grasp of who she is and what you wanted to say about her. That's what should happen when looking at a work of art.

Thank you all,
I was amazed too to see the possibilities of red+ black. If I add a bit of ochre yellow and a cold red, I could have all the colors, I think... But I wanted to keep things very simple and that it looks like a drawing not a pastel. Maybe another one...
In the beginning I though it would be quickly done, but finally I spent much time softening, and softening and softening again. I'm always impressed to see how skin and hair ( and fur) are so soft in transitions. In comparison with trompe l'oeil where I learned to push the contrasts so the objects jump forward, I have to learn to be subtle, delicate, to resist to the temptation to add too much white high lights and black shadows...
But that said, it's only technique... It doesn't help anyone who has nothing to say ...(thank you alex!)

Marina,

It is hard to believe that this is not an oil painting. I love the pose, just beautiful!

This is such a beautifully drawn head. And the perfect way you handled the tones in her hair; what little is seen in the anatomy of her upper back, the turn of her neck...everything. Such visual impact...hard to resist. Congratulations!

It's strange that some of you have the feeling of an oil painting, because in reality it doesn't look like a painting at all. It really looks flat , matt, and grainy in comparison with the paintings around. Photos sometimes give another dimension to our works. And it's a great tool too, to see the work with a fresh eye...
Anyway, thank you Enzie and Carlos for your kind comments.

Oh, my, this is a truly exquisite drawing! Marina, it is just wonderful.

Did you use a dark ground? Can you also post a close-up?

Beautifully done, Marina!

Thank you Julie and Chris,
I worked on a white paper ( Fabriano artistico) and to obtain a very dark background , I used some pressed charcoal stick and pushed it with a stomp. Lots of black dust in the house after...
Here are some close-up.

Thanks for sharing the close-ups too.

Congratulations Marina!

I hope you do not mind if I tell you that this lovely portrait does not feel like an oil painting to me. Actually, I thought it was a pastel painting when I first saw the picture (I know you wanted to avoid it to look like a pastel but the colors do not make us think of a simple drawing at first!).

This is a typical case where you do not know if you should call a piece a "painting" or if you should call it a "drawing"...
We can see some strokes in the close-ups so it is still a drawing, but how well mastered!

Anyway, I am very glad to see your current works. Please keep posting :thumbsup:

Sincerely,
Karine

Just lovely Maria.

I think this is your best so far. The texture of the fur and skin are beautifully done. The roughness of the fur sets off the fineness of her face.

Marina, I am the last to get here, but I am glad I made it !
The range of colours you managed to suggest by only using tone is amazing.
Truely beautiful
Ilaria

Congratulations Marina,

I agree with all of the rest, this is absolutely beautiful! And I too am blown away with the range of colors you were able to suggest with black and red. What an eye opener.

Janel

OK,
I apologize to all who thought it looks like an oil painting : you are right. A friend came and when I asked her " Did you see my last drawing ? " she exclaimed " What ? I thought it was an oil painting !"
It's just me who can't see it this way...

Karine,
thank you for taking the time to comment. You are free to see what you want in my work.
I think it's like raising a child : you do your best, but there's a moment where you have no more control and your work has his own life ( in viewers eyes).

Sharon, Ilaria, Janel,
thank you very much for your enthousiasm. I didn't expect such reaction for a rather simple drawing. It makes me want to do some more to develop the possibilities of this technique...

Ditto to what Alex has said...all the technique's in the service of the spirit.

I'm amazed also at what has come from just the two colors.

Hi Marina, I am late to this thread but I just wanted to add to everyone's vote that this is truly a fine drawing. Managing black charcoal and red chalk is not easy to do and on a technical level, this is very nicely managed. The head wrap gives this child an 18th century air, romantic and innocent.

Award(s) predicted!
 

Dear Marina,

How stunning! Such a young beauty and spirit perfectly captured! I concur with all that this drawing is transcendental to it's medium and elegance. Where does painting excel? As has been said, the implied color complexity generated through mere black and sanguine on white, seems to defy physical laws by those masterfully controlled gradations in tone and tint. It must be noted your composition is no less captivating and compelling. As the fur leads us inward to the right, in concert with the massing of light, the tips of her hair then bring us in counter motion directly back to her invitational leftward gaze, the central theme. Her assertive motion is undeniable. The world is her oyster, no doubt. Will she turn even more to include us, the viewer? We only want to be a part of her inspired constellation; so powerful is her countenance and appeal! Beyond mastery, this profile is beguiling, and a clear favorite. Congratulations!

Garth

True perfection Marina. I don't think I've ever seen a baby in a fur coat, but the combination of soft on soft is wonderful.

Marina, How absolutely beautiful ! I don`t think I ever saw anything like it. Congratulations.

Tom, Linda, Garth, Heidi, and Grethe : Thank you so much !

Garth,
I had to read your comment several times to understand it. It sounds like a poem ! Thank you for taking the time to write such a beautiful text .