Head study -- 19 of 50

Charcoal on newsprint.

Big form studies

As the title says, these little oil studies have only the big forms of the head; no detail and no small forms. Comparable to a basic clay sculpture before finishing details are added... no irises, eyelashes, eyebrows, or nostrils, and simplified forms in the hair.

Oil on canvas. 5.3 x 6 in.

Head study -- 18 of 50

Charcoal on bond paper. 8 1/2 x 11 in.

Portrait of Ashley

Charcoal and white pastel on toned paper. 16 x 20 in.

Head study -- 17 of 50

Oil on canvas. 6 x 8 in.

Head study -- 16 of 50

Oil on canvas. 6 x 8 in.

Head study -- 15 of 50

Oil on canvas. 6 x 8 in gesture sketch.

Head study -- 14 of 50

Oil on canvas. 6 x 8 in. gesture sketch.

Head study -- 13 of 50

Oil on canvas. 6 x 8 in. gesture sketch.

Head study -- 12 of 50

Oil on canvas 6 x 8 in. gesture sketch.

Head study -- 11 of 50

Charcoal on bond. 8.5 x 11 in.

Head study -- 10 of 50

Oil on canvas. 6 x 8 in. Burnt umber, raw umber, & white. A gesture sketch. (I ran out of burnt umber and switched to raw.)

Head study -- 9 of 50

Oil on canvas. 6 X 8 in. Burnt umber & white. This is a gesture sketch, done in one hour. Pretty sketchy and loose, but good training. Especially for someone who tends to be a perfectionist.

Head study -- 8 of 50

Charcoal on drawing pad. 11 x 14 in.

This paper has too much tooth for the drawing technique I used (shading with the side of the charcoal). So it's pretty grainy. A learning experience, as all of these drawings are.

Head study -- 7 0f 50

Charcoal on bond. 8.5 X 11 in.

Head study -- 6 0f 50

Oil on canvas. 6 X 8 in. Burnt umber/white.

Head study -- 5 of 50

Oil on canvas. 6 X 8 in. Burnt umber/white.

Head study -- 4 of 50

Charcoal on bond.

Head study -- 3 of 50

Oil on canvas, 6 X 8 in. Burnt umber and white. Time: about 2 hrs. 40 min.

Head study -- 2 of 50

Oil on un-stretched canvas, 6 X 8 inches.

I'm going to do some monochrome oil studies in addition to charcoal. This one is burnt umber and white. Approximate time: 3 1/2 hours.

Head sketch -- 1 of 50

Pencil on bond paper

Head sketch 12/13/10

Charcoal on toned paper

Head study 11/12/10

Pencil on copier/printer paper.

Posted 11/13/10

Head study 11/11/10

Charcoal and graphite on copier paper.

Head sketch 11/5/10

Charcoal on sketch paper

Head sketch 11/3/10

Pencil on newsprint.

Head sketch 11/2/10

Pencil on sketch pad.

Head sketch 11/1/10

Pencil on sketch pad.

Head sketch 10/31/10

Pencil on newsprint.

Head sketch 10/28/10

Pencil on newsprint

Head study 10/27/10 Part two

Charcoal and white chalk on toned paper.

Head study 10/25/10 Part one

Charcoal on toned paper

Head study 10/15/10

Charcoal on bristol.

Head study 10/14/10

Charcoal on toned paper

Head study 10/14/10

Charcoal on toned paper.

Portrait of Paul, age four

Charcoal on smooth Strathmore bristol.

Head study 9/16/10

Charcoal on Canson toned paper.

Yeah, I know -- it's been a while. Not much, how 'bout you... no, wait, that's an old song.

This isn't finished yet, but I thought it could go on the blog anyway. I'm still working on toned paper. I want to try a toned paper with less tooth. There's a youtube demo of a charcoal drawing on smooth paper toned with a watercolor wash, by artist Jonathan Linton. It's worth a few minutes to watch it. Very good drawing. Just search his name and go to his blog. He has a link to the video.

Head study - 8/12/10

This head study was done with charcoal pencils (General's; hard, medium, soft, and extra soft), and white chalk (General's white charcoal pencil, as well as CarbOthello 1400/700, which is a very light grey pastel pencil), on toned paper. I forgot to write a note on the paper, but I'm pretty sure it's Canson Mi-tientes; color is moonstone. Blending was done with paper stumps, soft dry paint brushes, and a paper towel. No fingers. I had to resist the impulse several times. But the tools work well, and don't leave oil on the drawing.

I shot sequence photos during the process, for those who are interested in such things. (Isn't everybody?)

It's a pretty nifty way to work, especially with portraits.

Block-in. This is the first stage, which I posted several days ago. An "eyeball" lay-in.

Measured and corrected. I used a measuring stick for comparative measurements, and adjusted the angle of tilt on her brow line, and correspondingly on the mouth.

Outline finished.

Shown here with reference photo. This is a photocopy of a photo from an old magazine. I blew it up to see it better. For this exercise, a large reference photo was more important than image quality. The subtle tones are lost, but enough of the image remains to work from. This is almost sight size, but not quite. I blocked it in without measuring, so it's close to the same size as the photo, but not exactly. I plan to do some sight size head studies, too. They are a good way to train your eye to see not only proportions, but also the big effect.

If you're not familiar with sight size drawing, a Google search will lead you to some good information. There's even a website about it --- sightsize.com.

Darks blocked in (and a few halftones).

Three fourths finished.

The finished drawing. This is a blurry photo. A clear photo is at the top of this post.

Three fourths finished

Charcoal and white chalk on toned paper.

Head starts

Pencil on sketch pad. From photos.