
I got back to work on this portrait today. It was kind of hard to remember which colors I had been using for Sam's face, but I think I found the correct ones. Now I'm trying to be more organized in keeping track of which colors and pencils I use for different pieces. I've been jotting down the pencil brand and color in a little notebook as I go. Surely this will be helpful since I have more than one portrait project going at the same time.
Before starting back on this one I decided to make a change I've been thinking about. Namely Dean's shirt, I never did like the shirt in the reference photo. It was too detailed. I wanted a plainer look, so I had my husband pose for a few reference pictures for me in one of his dark shirts. With this in hand I was able to sketch in a new look for the shirt and have it on hand later to render the shirt realistically.
The paper is a 20x28 inch sheet of Fisher 400. This is the first time I've worked on a real sanded paper surface with colored pencils and it has been a different enough experience to put me off for a while. But now that I'm back with a fresh eye and renewed enthusiasm, I think I will ultimately end up loving this paper. My problem I think has always been my timidity in laying down color. I tend to get too focused in small areas. With a work surface this size and this texture you have to step back and lay color down in bolder strokes than I'm normally used to.
This is what I mostly worked on, Sam's face.

With more color on the paper, I was able to get better results using a brush to smooth the colors together. I'll have to really try to remember to be bolder in applying my colors.
Awesome portrait work! Look forward to seeing more.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! I appreciate it all the more coming from such an accomplished artist as yourself. :-)
ReplyDelete