My husband, Tom
 

Hello all,

This is my husband, charcoal on either Stonehenge or Strathmore. The head is life size, total dimension 13"x19". I should have marked the paper when I bought it. I picked up many different types of paper on one of my sprees, and they are all in a plastic bag and now are like canned goods with no label! Next time I'll mark them in the store.

I started out with graphite, but it's just not my medium. To Jimmy, Armin, Jeff, and all the graphite artists on this board, you have my respect. You have much more patience and fine motor control than I!

This is close to done so I thought I would put it up for any comments. My reference picture was very clear but the expression on Tom's face was slightly sneering. So he sat for the minor adjustments to the eyes and mouth to give him a slight smile. So far he really likes it. Lots of character, and wisdom lines in this face.

Jean

Hi again.

Tom's almost done, I think I'm going to crop it like this. Tom hair and beard is quite white, beard has dark areas (salt and pepper) so I decided to place white charcoal mainly on his left side. I don't like this paper, I'll try to find the Fabriano here and get some when my next commission roles in. I'm still doing portraits for the cost of supplies and a liitle extra to keep me motivated. Has anyone heard of "Eagle Charco", super refined charcoal pencils? I found it in an old roll top desk that belonged to my husband's father. It's so old that it's warped, but it is the smoothest charcoal I've ever worked with. Feels like butter going on the paper. Maybe charcoal improves with age, like fine wine.

Jean

This is my reference photo with the slight sneer. I also changed Tom's glasses, made the frames smaller as they detracted from his dark brown eyes. He needs new ones anyway.

Jean

Well I tackled it with pastel, I just didn't like it. I'm also trying to get used to new medications to control muscle spasms. They don't make me loopy, just work at the spinal cord. It was getting hard to lift my arm for any extended amount of time. So while in this transition period, I'm going to have to go looser. Tom's personality is more dramatic than I had portrayed him before anyway.

Jean