Jolanda 2

David Draime · 02-27-2004, 01:15 PM

Thanks everyone for your nice comments. You all really made my day. I don't feel lonely anymore!

Jimmie, I've seen your "failed attempts." You can't fool me. Actually, I've used you as an inspiration for my drawings, particularly how you fade out the image, the "unfinished" parts of your drawings. It's always been my achille's heel. The rendering part for me is the easy part. Time consuming, tedious - yes. But I always have trouble knowing when and where to "give it a rest." You do it beautifully.

Jean, the size is approximately 16 X 20." I'm sorry, I'm not sure what the paper is. I often just grab a color or tone I like and don't pay much attention to what it is I'm using. (I know I should!)
I use a hard (HB) charcoal pencil (General's) sharpened often to a fine point. I don't smudge it at all, I don't use a blending stick. I just render it by laying down values, a little at a time. I never mix the white with the charcoal (you know that

). I do sometimes smudge the white highlights, but never the charcoal. I guess I'm too much of a control freak!

Jean, I just saw you newly revised "Gary" and it is absolutely stunning, beautiful, gorgeous, masterful. Bravo. I really like it!

David

Jean Kelly · 02-27-2004, 02:17 PM

David,

I find it hard to believe there is no blending. It looks so smooth and effortless, could you post a detail (please) so I can see how you are laying down the charcoal?? I wouldn't be able to keep my fingers out of it. Jimmie finds his structure with line, you find it how? Both are wonderful and so different.

Thanks for the compliment, you've made my day!

Jean

Jimmie Arroyo · 02-27-2004, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Jimmie, I've seen your "failed attempts."

Ha, no you have'nt!! I have several in the "botched" file at home, if they survived the trash can. I only have one charcoal that I'm happy with. My 'hacel' piece was originally a charcoal, but was very unhappy with the results. I'm gonna try it again soon, just need the right model and pose.

I agree with finding when to finish being a challenge. When I think I've found it, I sign it, then study it for a while. I tend to find the finish easier when it is signed. Steven Assael does a great of this and Ingres was so good at it, it looked planned.

David Draime · 02-27-2004, 05:19 PM

Hi Jean,

Here's a detail, though I'm not sure with the pixelation if it shows much. To get the smoothness in these drawings I'll lay down a value for a particular area, almost always using a very sharp point (my trusty electric pencil sharpener is always at hand). There will be a certain roughness to it and I may see some individual strokes. So I then go into that area and "hit" all the little light spots to bring them in line with the overall value of that particular passage. If I keep doing this, I can get it to look smooth as velvet. It's tedious work - I feel a bit like a surgeon when I'm in this mode - but, for me, the end result is worth it. I kind of just "zone out" when I'm doing this kind of rendering. I will, of course, often step back to see what I've done and where I'm going.

My goal is to achieve a kind of "glow" by really nailing the values and the transitions between values. For me, it's all about values and edges. Nothing more than that. As I see it, subtlety is beauty. I love doing portraits because there is a universe of subtleties that is a human face. Subtleties of lighting, value transitions, edges, highlights, as well as the expression, emotion of the subject. It's my job just to notice as much of that as possible.

I do think somewhere down the road I'll get tired of working this way and opt for a looser, "less fanatically contolled" way of working. It's very time consuming and, at times, downright boring. But so far, I'm pleased with the results so I keep doing it.

David

Jean Kelly · 02-27-2004, 08:05 PM

Thanks David,

Your drawing actually has the texture of skin; it reminds me of what Marvin Mattleson can do with paint. That glow is beautiful and it appears you are a master at it. You actually have no lines in it that I can see. I may try this but won't guarantee I'll post the result. Thanks again, it's inspiring.

Jean

Kevin Noonan · 03-04-2004, 04:30 AM

David

This is very inspirational stuff. I bought some charcoal a while ago but haven't used it yet. I didn't know about charcoal pencils so I

David Draime · 03-04-2004, 04:56 PM

Hi Kevin

Thanks for the comments. I've actually started painting again. I haven't done an oil painting in about 12 years so I'm kind of rusty. But BOY, how challenging is painting? I love it, and I'm up for the challenge, but I know I've got a lot to learn. I'm working on 3 paintings (portraits) currently. I think you're right that by working in several mediums, it'll all get more interesting. I'm not totally bored doing the charcoal portraits ( if I was, I wouldn't do them), but just sometimes, especially when dealing with backgrounds (and braids!).

And yes, music is great to work by. I enjoy many kinds of music, but I'm finding that good classical music is best to work by. It's just so timeless, or maybe I like that it makes me feel I'm painting in a different era. It's nice.

Quote:

How long did it take to complete? Again, an impressive piece, please keep posting.

This last one probably was about 40 - 50 hours. Jolanda 1 was more like 60 - 70. And yes, I'm looking forward to posting my first paintings to get some feedback. By the way I tried to get to your site but haven't had any luck yet. I'll keep trying.

Nice to make your acquaintance!

David

Kevin Noonan · 03-05-2004, 07:38 AM

David

I'm finding the whole process a challenge at the moment due to a lack of practice over the years. I hope it