Something About Nothing

I know I shared this face already but I thought it needed to be in this post about the faces in my sketchbook. She was the first face I attempted to draw in this sketchbook. This was an attempt to work on shadows and highlights. I like how the background developed. This face started with a tutorial for a manga drawing, and they quickly told me they wanted to be more. More fabulous. Once drawn I realized they reminded me of author and performing artist, Alok. It wasn't intentional, but perhaps a subliminal influence. I keep drawing from my head, but think I need to do more from life or photos to get things down so I can be good enough to draw "off the top of my head." The shadowing was off on her. He head looked off. I looked at some photos of people in shadow to attempt to get her right. After I drew her I realized she reminded me of actor Jane Seymour. Another attempt at drawing off the top of my head. The eyes always seem so dead. I have realized there needs to be some ...

I've drawn realistic faces before but usually from a photograph as the ones I try to draw from my imagination look cartoonish.  I've envied other artists (like my daughter and son) who can draw a face from their imagination.  When I saw Pam Carriker's Mixed Media Portraits book I knew I had to have it.  I read the book as soon as it arrived but it took me a couple of weeks to gather the nerve to put pencil to paper.  Pam's instructions are easy to follow.  My teenage daughter has tried to teach me the proportions of a face before, but somehow the information, though very simple, has gone in one ear and out the other.  I think I am better at learning from reading the instructions than from just hearing them because I can keep going back and making sure I get it all right.   Here is my first attempt using Pam's method - first a sketch, getting all the proportions just right.  Well - sort of just right!  And then comes the fun part - SHAD...