Scholastics #2
Sister of the Moon
12'' x 8''
Graphite, colored pencil and acrylic paint on toned paper
This is the first version of this idea I had. I was initially going to do the entire portrait realistically, but I saved it to the last minute and was up late, so I decided to make my life easier by filling in the hair with a night sky. I had already finished half of the hair, so I didn't paint over it, which, in retrospect, was a pretty dumb idea. The piece looks unbalanced with only half of the hair painted. The big mistake I made with this piece was the size of the paper. It was really hard to control proportions when the page is big. I didn't really notice just how disproportionate my face was until I was done with it. I really liked the idea of the moon and stars in my hair, so I decided to make another one.
Sister of the Moon
8'' x 5''
Graphite, colored pencil and acrylic paint on toned paper
The first thing I did was pick a much smaller piece of paper. Then I chose a different angle to make it more interesting, and to include more shadows on the face. I also made the moon bigger and rounder in proportion to my face. I am much happier with this piece. The proportions are the best I've ever done before. Because the paper was significantly smaller, the proportions were much easier to control. I also made both sides of the hair into the night sky which really balanced out the piece. I also added a background by going over the background with a white colored pencil, which makes the face stand out more. I'm really glad I decided to make a new version. It turned out much better than the first one.