I have signed up for a portrait class that starts in two weeks and am quite excited and nervous. My drawing skills seem so rusty compared to drawings I have from a long time ago when I was in school.
In an attempt to be prepared, I have been sketching a little here and there and this morning I sat down in front of the mirror to try a 30 minute self portrait. I tried to capture the pose below, although it is super hard to take a picture of what you see in the mirror. No lipstick, or colour - I didn't brush my hair or anything.
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| maybe I will try to sketch from this picture later and compare! |
I was drawing on old newsprint with a 2B pencil and tried to erase as little as I could. In reality, I tried lots of erasing, but newsprint (especially old dry stuff) doesn't take well to the pressure on its surface.
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| eek! |
I can pick at this all day and I don't feel I captured my likeness. A couple of aspects I am happy with, for example; there really does appear to be a neck there! There are many points where improvement can happen ( oh so many...) - I really wanted to just stow it away - however, by posting it here I am now obligated to practice, practice, practice.
Really looking is hard work, it is natural to start to draw what you see in your mind, instead of what you actually see in the mirror. That is the first thing I will need to work on with the next drawing!
