Thursday, January 07, 2010

Portrait update




I'm working on the portrait of my mother on a 22 x 30 sheet of Stonehenge.  I started out with charcoal, then couldn't find the charcoal I usually use (its here in the studio somewhere) so added graphite then a touch of coloured charcoal for the clothing.  I haven't used coloured charcoal pencils much, they're a bit of an oddity in my opinion, but can give a subtle hint of colour which may work well in this piece.


As this is a large sheet of paper and the right hand side is predominantly a patterned cover for the sofa she's on, it may take some time to draw.  Or I may reduce the size of the drawing.  We'll see how far my patience lasts with fiddly detail.


The NL Blogroll highlights blogs from around the province and mine was highlighed in the fall, along with others in the past year.  Stephen Harris, the owner started a NL Bloggers Choice Award based on individuals voting via a poll and getting additional points through comments.   If you care to vote for Illustrated Life, you can do so here.  My blog is way out of the running but its fun to participate.

8 comments:

Teresa Mallen said...

Off to a beautiful start. I really like the look artists get with coloured charcoal but I haven't used it much myself.

I shall hop on over to the NL blogroll. BTW thank you for nominating my studio on Katherine's Making a Mark - I was surprised and delighted! :-) Oh, and loved the whole recent business of freezing watercolours. Never a dull moment here. Thanks for that too!

A Brush with Color said...

It's shaping up beautifully, Jeanette. I will happily vote for you since I always enjoy seeking out what you have to say and what you're up to in your blog.

Gary said...

This is so beautiful Jeanette.

Billie Crain said...

This is a beautiful portrait already, Jeanette. I can't wait to see it completed. Your soft touch with the charcoal is perfect for this one.

Btw, your blog got my vote!

Nithya Swaminathan said...

Beautiful start Jeanette. The eyes and smile exude such warmth, it is a very lovely portrait. Seems like a tricky angle too :)

Jeanette Jobson said...

Thanks Teresa. I've always envied your studio and it was top of mind when I saw the opportunity to nominate yours.

Oh yes, I keep busy. :)

Thank you Chris.

I may regret doing it this size Gary, looking at all that patterning on the sofa...

Billie, I enjoy the levels of control that I can get with charcoal. It can be broad and loose or tight and defined. Its so versatile.

And thanks for the vote.

Thanks Nithya, the angle is unusual but that's a good thing, it makes it more interesting and alive I think.

vivien said...

this is SO good!

Laurel Neustadter said...

This is coming along beautifully. I love the soft, delicate rendering.