OK here we go. I've been working on this feverishly all day and can confirm that there is black polychromo pencil smeared on my face. It is not the best look.
I hope it looks something like the original in these jpgs. Its an overcast day and my camera is overcompensating, distorting the saturation. Plus I have an old monitor and its hard to know what it will look like for you. It is colorful in person, but I am guessing maybe not as much as in the jpg.
I work in a vertical stroke, meaning I lay down the pencil in vertical lines side by side. I didn't always use this method, but on Fisher paper I find it is the best way to put pencil on the paper. What I have been playing with, concerning that linear technique, is leaving the stroke visible. I can very easily blend the whole entire thing (with my trusty index finger) and obscure the lines, but I have kept them. I think if it were perfectly smooth, then when you look at it up close, it would lose that feeling of the human hand. In the age of amazing color printers, who wants perfectly blended art, right?
click to enlarge the image to better see the stroke.
& for a jpg that should scare everyone just a bit. EEEK. I don't like erasing, but when the top of her head didn't fade into the darkness enough, I took my blue painting tape and my fingernail and removed pencil so I could get it blacker. Maybe I'll take this picture out on Halloween for a fright.
Have a good weekend everyone!
Gorgeous! And I love that you share your process.
ReplyDeleteFrom where I'm sitting: looking seriously good. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteLook forward to next week's posts:)
Oh my, this is lovely. Thanks for sharing and inspiring. Because of you I have dipped my hand into CP and it wasn't too bad. :) I'm way too impatient to do it all the time. Thanks again.
ReplyDeleteNicole, this is beautiful, as always.Your portraits are so full of life!
ReplyDeleteWow looks great! now it reminds me of that famous National Geographic portrait of the green eyed girl!
ReplyDeleteAs always you're a wonderful artist. I wish I could take your classes and workshops. Have you ever considered writing a book? If not, you should. I'd be the first in line when it came out! :)
ReplyDeleteFantastic! One of the best CP portraits I've seen. Thanks for sharing your WIP and technique, too.
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice way to come back from the weekend! Thank you all for the ice comments!
ReplyDeleteCarol - I've tossed the idea around! :)
The colors are amazing! I think you made a good choice not to blend it.
ReplyDelete