I found this really cute drawing the other day and it’s been rattling around my brain. I wasn’t sure how to translate the realistic portrait into my more Expressionist style, so I did what I usually do. I put the black pencil on the paper and let go. In this case, the pencil was a conte stick and it spread beautifully on the paper. I found myself doing all the contours, shading, and hair, before moving to use other conte colours and compressed chalks. I think I must have blended in a dozen layers, before returning to add another contour and the final black highlights for the hair. Some of the hairs just needed to cross her face to add depth. Then I kept adding more layers and blending.
Her smile reminds me of my wife, Sawsan. Like the one lyric in your favourite song that makes you love it. A perfect, feminine beauty. Oh, and will she ever give me a face for writing this thought, but it’s worth it to let her know I love her.
For more artistic explorations, visit The New Renaissance Mindset @ http://www.renminds.org
