Mixed Media 

Artist's Statement: 

The assignment was to use charcoal and ink to create a realistic representation of a photo. I chose one that my sister had taken last summer, one that I really liked because my hat gave me light freckles. I had written poetry in the background of another self portrait I did, so I had the idea to write the lyrics to Ella Fitzgerald's rendition of 'Summertime', originally from Porgy and Bess. 

I used the grid method to render most of my lines proportionate, but it was hard with charcoal, as it usually works best when layered, which made it hard to gauge my initial lines. 

I made a lot of the hair up, adding more highlights than in the photo, because I wanted a general theme of light to be going on.