So, had time to think a bit, and saw what Laure wrote, so back to the tablet.
Not convinced, not convinced. I think I am just putting colour where I think it should be, rather than looking at the subject and SEEING where it really is. So the whole idea of adding colour to sketches after the event is a bit null and void here. And those rich dark depths are nigh on impossible digitally. Well, for me, at the moment, they are.
But picked up a few interesting bits here, stuff to carry forward. Not letting it go just yet, still things to discover.
Light is, as always, the key. Maybe if I can sneak a photo of the subject after sketching them... Hmmmm. Asbo's here I come.
Hi Keith! Drawing people/faces is my weakest point; I would love to be able to do it and capture character as expertly as you do - I'm always in awe of really good portraiture, it is os very hard to do well and convincingly, but goodness, you do it!
ReplyDeleteDon't take photos! Trust your instincts! So maybe you're not getting what you want the first or third time out....how many sketches did you do before you started to get work that was more what you were after?
ReplyDeleteKeep going! You've got some really good stuff going on in both this one and the last one, even if the guy wasn't a monk!
PG - Hiya, thanks for stopping by. Great to see you and your elephant here.
ReplyDeleteLaure - a million thanks for your continued feedback. I spent a lot of yesterday thinking about this, and my instinct is that this process is, at the moment, coming out of a different box. The sketches are about trying to catch something of a person, something that only that person is. Subject, pen, me - in that order.
The colour playing is about trying to satisfy my ego, to show off, and the subject is, so far, reduced to a framework. Me, me, me - in that order.
And I'm thinking that is a negative. Unless I can sketch directly on the laptop, with the subject in front of me then there is no real honesty there.
I will carry on with this as an exercise, but I'm not posting them, as it is at too much of a tangent to what I want this to be at the moment.
Short and to the point: I like the color.
ReplyDeleteLove your brutal honesty about the subject. My thoughts were more around creating a piece of artwork not a portrait.
ReplyDeleteIf a true likeness is your goal, then yes, a photo or a laptop will be quite necessary to remove as much of the "me" element as possible.
Even with that said, as you've probably guessed, I still like the interpretation through the artist's hand rather than the pursuit of the likeness.
Ignore me and carry on!
Your comments are massively appreciated, and welcome, and always food for thought. To a degree I don't get this kind of feedback often, so it is a pleasure and a delight to know what you think. I won't take photos, you are right, but instead will pursue the two strands that this has opened up with scrutiny.
ReplyDelete