Pastel drawing

[Tom Edgerton]

Mr. Whitaker--

Thanks so much for this...it's wonderful. It shows how simple, but transcendent, things can be. I do so much drawing in preparation for painting, and I'm always delighted when someone reminds me how great an activity drawing is for its own sake .

With highest regards--TE

[William Whitaker]

Tom,

I too find myself doing a great deal of drawing in preparation for my paintings, more so now than when I was younger. It seems the older I get, the more effort it takes to achieve satisfactory results.

I'm not particularly good at likeness and I've found that doing several drawings of a sitter helps me figure out what the person really looks like.

Chis Saper asked me to post more closeups. Here are two more.

Bill

[Alexandra Tyng]

Bill,

This is such a wonderful drawing! Thank you for posting the closeups. It seems simple, I think, because the values work together and the whole never falls apart into pieces. But as I look at it more closely, I start to see the richness and complexity under the surface. Her expression and the suggestion of her personality and soul grabs me at the same time as the variations of texture and strokes.

You say you are "not particularly good at likeness" and that as time goes on you have to work harder to get a satisfactory result. It occurred to me that you must be trying to get deeper into the person you are drawing/painting. Obviously you are not aiming for a fascile, quick, superficial likeness. So I think what you are aiming for is not easily come by and I admire your work because of that, and many other things, too.

Alex

[Chris Saper]

There is no better pleasure in art than the drawing part. (I believe that might be a little poem)

[Lacey Lewis]

I echo what the other posts have said; this is a sensitive and elegant drawing. Thank you for sharing this with us!

I have been inspred recently by the drawings on your website to 'go back to it' myself. Possibly because of my youth and my rush to accomplish somehting in paint and build a portfolio, I often neglect the importance of drawing both for its own sake and for preparing to paint.

I'm getting my pastels ready! You are an inspiration.

[Patricia Joyce]

I am probably going to be shot for critiquing one tiny part of this beautiful piece, but the tangent of her finger and the string going out the the "Hershey Kiss" shape thing is bothering me.

Otherwise very beautiful piece.

[Alexandra Tyng]

No, Pat, I won't shoot you, but since I am the new moderator I'd better do my job. You are right--we aren't supposed to critique in the Unveilings Section.

[Kimberly Dow]

Originally Posted by William Whitaker

I'm not particularly good at likeness

That's just a dirty rotten lie. I understand you are probably trying to make us mere mortals feel better, but nobody who has taken a workshop with you (or seen you demonstrate) is going to be buying the above statement.