Saturday, April 3, 2010

April 3, 2010 - Day 236

Ink on 250gsm Stonehenge 100% Cotton Vellum Watercolor Paper

Self-portrait tonight. My son says it looks like me only my hair has more curl to it :D

I really like these ink portraits. I like the mix of black fine marker and brushed on shades of black ink. I am finally able to get a likeness of a person. At the beginning of January I did some portraits in color but none of them turned out. I had more success with the portraits that I did using just Burnt Umber but still I found it difficult to maintain a likeness.

I think the difference this time is that I am drawing the features in with pen before I add any shading. Even if the shading is a bit off the features are still the right size and shape. Since I work so small any tiny deviation from the form will make a BIG difference in how the portraits turns out.

I really like the high contrast in these paintings. When I use color I usually end up losing that contrast by overworking the painting. In a couple of days I will probably try adding color washes over top of the ink drawing just to see what it would look like. It might give it a retro look like the pin-up and propaganda posters of the 1940's. That would be really cool if it did!

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