Portraits

I tackled this portrait using a pretty grainy image that was also very dark so most of the detail was in shadow. I didn't have any other images to assist me so its a bit like one of those moments of high stress where you shut your eyes, say a quick prayer to the gods of art and put down what you hope looks like the person. I'll find out tomorrow if I've offended someone or not...

There is something interesting about creating a portrait of an individual. You never really see the person until you have drawn them. The same is true for any object. We see a tree for instance and think tree, perhaps the species, and that's it. In the eyes of an artist we see a tree and think, trunk texture, sunlight reflecting on the right side, how the branches intertwine, the different colours of the leaves, where the skyholes are in the canopy, how the structure of the branches interact with the trunk, etc. etc.

The same happens with people. I see a person and study eye shape or colour; bone structure of the face, mouth, nose, hair. Some faces don't interest me to draw. There isn't enough shape there to hold my attention. Sure anyone can be drawn, but some faces are more interesting than others. Faces with character hold my interest or those in good contrasting light. But there isn't a person yet who I have not at least tried to draw.

I would like to try to draw a different person each day if I had time to do so, but I know it would be impossible for me to succeed due to time constraints, so I will just do them as I can and continue to be amazed by what I see and how it is interpreted.