Pencil Sketches & 11-14

I am really enjoying 29 Faces in May. I am definitely challenging myself to draw or paint a face each day, but I am not going to have a daily face post. That is just not possible for me right now. These four little cuties were drawn with pencil over the past few days. I like how they look in pencil, so I am curious to see how they evolve with paint added to them...

if I even add paint. :)

Face #11 is the little doll in the top left corner. I like how her eyes look up into the distance. Someone (Hi, my fabulous friend Diane!) had asked me if I base my girls on anyone in particular and where I get the inspiration for them. So I really thought about that for these four portraits. I find that sometimes I start with a general idea of what I want...for this girl I was thinking sweet, stylized, and something I would paint in "springy" colors. For other faces, I sometimes start with a background - and then see what story or figure develops from the beautiful mixture of paint, ink, watercolor, & paper. The faces usually come straight from the colorful little land in my head. I know I also do not try to make the faces look realistic. I prefer stylized, folkish, doll faced portraits. :)

Face #12

OK. Number 12. What can I say? I was sad. Face 12 is a pretty literal interpretation of what I was feeling when I drew her.

Me sad = face with tears. 

The morning started out fabulously glorious and then 

Eeyore's black cloud came in and settled on me. Lol.

I don't know about you, but I am very sensitive. For some reason I think our society sometimes views sensitivity as weakness. I am not weak. I am just a girl who feels with her whole heart & can get crushed very easily. Not in a "can't get out of bed" way...but, a 

"Wow. That really hurt my heart" kinda way.

There are times when oodles & bunches of people (wonderful, sparkly, loving people) surround me...but, I feel alone. Like they just don't really "get" me or listen to me or how can they not see how wrong that was or shouldn't my feelings count. I am in no way saying I am perfection - far from it - but sometimes I have to wrap the bandages 

pretty tightly around my heart. 

 Thank goodness for a God who loves me (who promises to never leave me!), my little munchkins who chase away dark clouds, and art that saves. :)

Close up of  Face #13

Face #14

Faces 13 & 14 were my attempts to work on face proportion & shading. I curled up on the couch with my journal, pencil, eraser and caught up on some TV shows. After I had the basic sketch of the face, I added some details. I determined where my light source would be so I could start shading in the right spots. I shaded the faces lightly with my pencil, then I rubbed it a bit with my finger to soften the lines. I think I need one of those blending stumps. (Of course I need it! Add it to the list. :) Oh, how I love art supplies!!) I also used my kneaded eraser a lot to bring some white highlights back. I am still going to continue working on these girls then add some paint. 

I think they are pretty cute. :)

I know portraits can be done in many different ways...

• sketched with pencil onto surface & then background created around it
• background done first & portrait "pulled" from the background
• drawn onto paper, cut out, & glued to another prepared surface
• created with just paint
• drawn with pen...no pencil involved
• painted over collaged image
• and the list goes on

If you like drawing faces, what method do you like to use?

Happy almost Tuesday friends!

I hope your week is beautiful and dark cloud free :)

XOXO,