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Hi Michael,
Ditto to all that Chris just said, and a few more thoughts on painting in open studio:
You were wise not to try to tackle the whole figure in three hours. I think it's really hard to get a facial likeness, body pose and clothing done all in one sitting.
Be prepared to tell the model exactly how to get back into the right position. You may have to argue with other artists about this, but stick to your guns if you think you're in the right.
Things can move around a lot between separate 20-minute poses, especially hair, hands and clothing. When I'm working on hands, for example, I'll try to leave them for a single session near the end of the time period. Even tiny pose changes make a big difference.
Remember, you are thinking of placing masses on paper, not lines. Keep asking yourself "Where is the light falling?" and "How can I get rid of edges?" Like you, I'm moving back and forth a lot between charcoal and painting these days and it's often difficult to keep those lines out of a charcoal drawing. Luckily, I like to smudge a lot. A chamois helps with keeping everything soft until you're ready to pull features in and out of focus. If you went in with your chamois and softened those lines of the profile it would look more "realistic" right away, don't you think?
People who get really good at charcoal seem to work from the top of the page down to the bottom so that they keep unintentional smudging to a minimum. I never feel quite organized enough to accomplish this but it seems like a good idea.
Give yourself some leeway when you delve into a new medium and technique. If I had the courage, I'd post my first attempts at "sauce", about which Peggy Baumgaertner has written at length. I call sauce "The Revenge of the KGB". Or, maybe, "Crime and Punishment". It is very unforgiving stuff and my hat is off to Peggy for managing it so well.
Best wishes, Linda
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