first row: charcoal mark practice
second row: practice marks with micron pens
third row: more practice with micron pens and ink/bamboo brushes
Over the last few weeks, I have completed these two pieces for my friend's birthday. The first piece was done in charcoal, from a photo of the three of us (I'm on the left) before the Black and White dance in February. This year I've been mostly focused on still lifes and landscapes, so a refresher with human proportions was a nice break for me. Although working in charcoal is often frustrating to me, having to deal with the mess it creates, and how hard it is to work in details with vine charcoal, I really enjoyed working on this piece. I was pleased with how it came out, especially the hair and the texture of our dresses. It was also nice to reflect back on a very fun, and memorable night spent with friends before the rest of senior year was cancelled.
The second piece was done in micron pen. For this drawing, I worked from a photo of my close friend that was taken of her adjusting her glasses in the moments before class started. I miss the "in between" moments of school when you set your bag down, exchange news with your friends, and all the noise and movement during those first few minutes of class. I found it challenging to work in her fingers and how the glass changes her face while I was first sketching it out. Usually, I work with a lot of color and shading so these two pieces were definitely a nice break from that.