Another one
 

It's tough posting that first picture on this forum. You see the hit count tick up and up, and you can't help but think that no one thinks your work is worth commenting on. (I know that's not the case. I've seen other people post their frustration about it. It takes time).

So rather than watch the forum, and get my feelings hurt, I set up a mirror and sketched myself. I tend to do self-portraits by natural light, which changes quickly this time of year, so I had to finish it up fast. This took an hour and a half. (that's fast for me) It reminds me of the old joke about the artist who painted a plein air sunset, but had to quit when he ran out of black paint.

By the way, I almost never draw hands. I'm just realizing how out of proportion it is. ;C

I had a few more minutes of light, so I took it a little farther.

Maybe this should be in a new thread, but this is a quick sketch of Sylvia. I met her along with a group of aspiring artists one night a few months ago. She's not shy about asking anyone to pose for her. She hadn't known me an hour when she asked me to be her model. I'm no model, but I offered to sit for her if she'd sit for me. She agreed, and we met at her house and drew each other.

This is a sketch I made on newsprint. It's big. It barely fit on my scanner. Done in vine charcoal.

Here's the scan.

Hello Jeff and Welcome to the Forum!

I have to say that I am impressed with your efforts on your self portrait. You have a good handle on value and the piece feels round. You had good form lighting too.

Hi Jeff,

Very nice drawings, and you're definitely on the noble path, building a foundation of skills before you throw color into the mix.

Something I am revisiting in my own work - think about representing a full range of values in your work. Early in the drawing find the lightest light and the darkest dark, and then compare every other value you see to those bookends. I think that will really help you to develop solid, 3-dimensional form. Go here and here for great descriptions of the importance of a clear 3-value scheme.

This Forum is really developing into an educational resource; it's very frustrating trying to learn how to paint/draw in a vacuum.

It sounds like you have an "open studio" session that you can attend, and I like how you grabbed a mirror when no one else was available!