DAD PORTRAIT STUDY

I'm calling this a study for now because unlike many of the stuff I do, I didn't sketch any ideas out on separate pieces of paper, I didn't work out a color comp nor did I entirely know what to expect when doing this altogether. I just wanted to paint. I wanted to paint something interesting and I wanted to do it my way without any rules or restrictions. I didn't really record my process for this one. Maybe because it went by pretty smoothly and quickly. I did have some hesitations with the background but in the end I decided to leave it as is. One thing I am currently thinking about is his left shoulder. I purposely didn't paint it because I liked the shape he was creating on the canvas. I might make a dark outline of what is "missing" but then again...I may not. I'm just glad I got this out of my system and am in the swing of creating new stuff.

I have tons of pending projects right now and my frustration right now is, "Where do I start?" Pray for me.

FACES & PLACES

Goodness! It's been a while since I posted...And it's not because I haven't been working on some art-- laziness gets the best of us sometimes, I guess. I've been filling up my sketchbook like nobody's business. 80% because I've had the inclination to draw and 20% because I want to finish this sketchbook and buy a new one I've been thinking about too much. More on that in a later post. Right now I'm wrapping up a study/portrait and will talk more about it tomorrow.

In the meantime, I thought I'd post up some recent sketches of faces and places and keep the habit of posting. The first 2 are from the same date and the others well...aren't. I love drawing people...I don't know what it is but it never gets old. No matter how many times I've drawn people I still manage to mess up. It's very rare that I get someone's likeness down the first time. I guess that's the pressure one has when drawing someone specifically. That's why you'll find me reaching for a pen rather than a pencil. Once that mark is down, it's down there permanently--no turning back. So if you make a "mistake" you don't erase it, you work with it. If it's that wrong, I'll try again and sometimes it'll even be easier the 2nd time around. The pen gets rid of "technicalities," those little details that one can easily be absorbed in when using a pencil. With a pen, I focus on more important things. Like mood, thickness of line, etc., etc. Architecture is a little different for me. For the most part I found it boring but lately I've been trying to change it up and find something about it that interests me. Sometimes it's color and sometimes it's shapes and their shadows. These sketches represent those interests. Enjoy.