Face #8

8X10" colored pencil

This face almost didn't make it into the collection. I started out drawing a face that had been photographed from a very low angle, making it difficult to draw accurately. The beginning of the drawing had a very cartoonish feel to it, so I decided to leave it alone for awhile. When I came back to it, I decided to put some color down and embellish what was there. The result was a caricature-like figure that very loosely resembles the reference photo from which I was working.

Face #7

7X7" oil pastel

I took some time to draw this in pencil first in order to make sure the proportions were close to correct. Although I have worked with oil pastel before, this piece challenged my ability to render fine details. I enjoyed working on this piece and seeing what was possible with the medium.

Face #6

3X3" silverpoint

The challenge in this particular face was to get the intensity of expression in the eyes and at the same time make the smile convincing. I'm pretty happy with the result. I really enjoy this particular medium and am eternally grateful for the drawing professor who introduced me to it.

Face #5

5X5" pen and ink, watercolor pencil

I realize that this is actually two faces, but they would not work as separate subjects. Therefore, I have considered them as one face. This piece had several challenges. First, there was the angle of the mother's face. I think I got it pretty close to the reference photo. The second challenge was the expression on the child's face. Although the features are well placed, the child is supposed to be smiling. To me, she looks frightened. The third and final challenge was the pen and ink medium. I had difficulty getting the values that I wanted and also deciding which lines were important to emphasize with the pen.

Face #4

5X7" Watercolor

This face was a little bit tricky. I did not sketch anything in advance. I just wet the paper down and dove right in with paint and paintbrush. I am surprised at how well this turned out, considering how quickly I had to work in order to take advantage of the wet paper. This is the third time that I have focused on the shadows first and lines later. It seems to be the key to working quickly.

Face #3

Face #3 was drawn with colored pencil on a dark blue background.

Again, it was the expression of the face that attracted me. I tried using one of those grid systems to get the right proportions, but I think one eye ended up being larger than the other. I am happy with the expression. The lighting was a bit of a challenge, because it was coming up from the bottom.

Face #2

Face #2 was sketched fairly quickly with a marker.

I used to do a lot of sketches with marker but have gotten away from it. This face attracted me because of the expression. It's not a very good likeness to the reference photo, but I'm happy with the shading.

Face #1

Face #1 was drawn with vine charcoal.

I was attracted to drawing this face because of the deep shadows. Instead of drawing the shapes of the face, eyes, nose, etc., I concentrated on accurately drawing the shadows.

100 Faces--Introduction

I have decided to embark on an ambitious, creative journey. I am going to draw 100 different faces. The faces will be of all types--old, young, happy, sad, so on and so forth. The media I use will be just as varied--oil, pencil, collage, pastel, etc. And, you may ask, what is the point of such an exercise? To learn, to explore, to discover.

So, enough talk. Let the journey begin...