Kevin

Patricia Joyce · 02-10-2004, 10:26 AM

This is a portrait of my son, Kevin, that I am working on and having some trouble with. I apologize for the dark reference photo and don't know if it will help, however it is all I have. The photograph is appealing to me because of the light falling on his face.

My problem seems to be with the mouth and I have looked at it upside down, in a mirror and till my eyeballs are rolling in my head! In my drawing it looks like he is pursing his lips. This is the second attempt at this portrait and I may have to begin again, which is fine. I want to get it right.

I would like opinions on how far to go with the plaid jacket, I know it needs work to make it look like it curves at the front properly, and to "finish it". The photo does not show the shadows as dark as they seem to be in actuality. I may try to take them further with an 8B. I need to fix the eye on our right, if you look closely the iris is not right.

Thanking you in advance!

Patricia Joyce · 02-10-2004, 10:29 AM

The reference photo, for what it is worth...

Patricia Joyce · 02-10-2004, 10:31 AM

closer view, scary eye, yikes!!!!

Michele Rushworth · 02-11-2004, 01:01 AM

Can you post a closer (and lighter?) version of the reference photo too?

Mike McCarty · 02-11-2004, 10:07 AM

See if this helps ...

Patricia Joyce · 02-11-2004, 10:31 AM

Thank you, Mike.

I had a bad experience last night. I worked on Kevin and went too far with my nit-pickiness and ended up making a mess. So it is back to square one. However, what I learned was that I did not like the tooth of this paper and will work, instead on the other side, which is smoother. I tend to overwork pieces, any suggestions?

Very frustrated when a good drawing is ruined.

Lon Haverly · 03-02-2004, 01:21 AM

"I tend to overwork pieces, any suggestions?"

If you draw as a realist, you compete with perfection, making the viewer intolerant. If you draw as an impressionist, you allow the viewer's mind to fill in the blanks and release his mind from the higher criticism that a very tight drawing demands. I am an impressionist when it comes to drawing, and I try to leave as much to the imagination as possible. You can get a good likeness without being a perfectionist. The work you did on the shirt does this somewhat. I think it is a good drawing.

What is it that drives us to overwork a drawing? Is it a weak concept of our drawing goals? Is it a lack of acceptance of our own work? Is it some kind of compulsion?

I have recently added a seven minute drawing to my offerings. I charge seven dollars. There are about 250 lines on average. I know when the drawing is done - it is when the last line is drawn. No erasing. The Saturday before Valentine's Day, I drew over fifty of these. I have overcome the "overwork" problem. Unfortunately, I am the one who is overworked. These are impressionistic drawings, but they are likenesses. It is a matter of choice. If you feel your work is overworked, you mey need to adjust your line technique to forbid you the option.

Patricia Joyce · 03-02-2004, 10:49 AM

[QUOTE=Lon Haverly]"I tend to overwork pieces, any suggestions?"

What is it that drives us to overwork a drawing? Is it a weak concept of our drawing goals? Is it a lack of acceptance of our own work? Is it some kind of compulsion?

Hi Lon,
Wow! it's great to hear from you. In fact I was just thinking about you this morning on my drive to work. Wondering how you have been with your television broadcast, and figuring I had not seen you on the forum because you have been so busy. I hope it is all going well for you. I would love to see some of your recent seven minute drawings.

Your words ring true (in quotes). I would not say that my goals are weak as I feel I am learning so much about form and light as it falls on form. My technique has not developed to a point where I feel I even have one, and I want to develop technique, too. I am drawing every day and taking life drawing and portrait drawing. But I do not have interraction with other portraitists other than here. When I was in Fla in Tony Ryder's workshop I did not want to draw with so many good artists and Tony there. I wanted to watch them work, understand how their techinique got their drawings to beautifully finished stages.

I have your book. And I love your drawings. I do believe that if I had the confidence to lay down lines as you do my drawings would improve. In my classes there are many short poses the longest only being 20 minutes. I think I will concentrate more on line, especially in the Thursday portrait class.

Seven minutes, twenty-five lines - how in the world did you get to that formula??! I want to see some of these drawings if you could post them, I would be ever grateful. In the meantime will go back to view your previously posted drawings.

Thanks you, Lon.

Lon Haverly · 03-02-2004, 01:09 PM

Well, 250 lines or so, I estimate. The point being, I have a very systematic method which limits me, and I jolly well know when the drawing is done.

(I have been busy, but not with the TV show, which is very slow going. I moved to a new location, a mall which used to be referred to as the jail bait mall. Well, it turns out that my business doubled!!!! And, I learned something about marketing to my community. I have been very busy.)

I have been contemplating the dilemma of overworking a drawing. I would rather stick to my format and dump the drawing, than overwork it. I like to leave the lines alone and learn to trust my lines. It boils down to the integrity of the drawing itself. It is hard to correct a drawing, especially graphite, without doing it damage. If you are in the early stages of layout, that is one thing. But if you have a network of lines and you try to erase a few of them, you destroy the network.

It is much easier to fall subject to overworking if you are a photo realist, as there is a bottomless pit of detail you indulge in. If you work this way, you cannot give the viewer any small detail to criticize. ANy small error will be rejected by the mind. If you draw like an impressionist you get the landmarks right but are looser in the interpretation of the masses. You allow the viewer to use his imagination and fill in the blanks. He forgives the lines and thus the likeness emerges without the busy work. It is entertaining to the mind. It is an illusion of a likeness.

I will post a drawing tonight {when I am on a PC which has some drawings) to illustrate my point.

Patricia Joyce · 03-02-2004, 02:22 PM

I look forward to seeing your posting, Lon. I walk by empty kiosks in my mall whenever I go there (it is right across the street from my apartment building) and I think of you! Sounds like you're in the right spot for your drawings, and I can imagine people standing in line for a $7 Lon Haverly!! What a deal!