Trying something new...

Lyle

One day in my art class, the teacher, Anna, and I were talking about different styles of portraits and she was showing me various pieces that she or others had done. She showed me this style, and I really liked it. The next week she showed up with illustration board and sepia charcoal, and she taught me how to do this. 

You start by rubbing the chalk all over the paper. Then, you rub it in to get a more solid background. Then, you sketch in the person you are drawing, and then you start lifting color out by erasing. And as you go, you add in darks and erase out lights until you get the right look. So, it is kind of like working backwards.  It takes a different way of thinking and it was a really good exercise for me. 

I think this was probably one of the more challenging pieces I have done because it was a new way of working, but I also learned a ton, and I learned a lot about shaping the face using the lights and darks, and I learned a lot about different shadows and proportions and seeing shapes better.

I will have to try this again soon. Lyle has a brother, so I want to try a matching set. We will see how it goes...