portraiture

I know it’s weird that the title and the featured image are at odds with each other, BUT KEEP READING.

Classes have started, which means it’s back to my erratic posting schedule. I know.

I used to scoff at Valentine’s Day and its cheesiness, but ever since I realized exactly how much I spend on baking (and eating), I stock up on those fair-trade-single-origin-specialty-chocolate bars during this time like I’m preparing for the zombie apocalypse. Those things are expensive. I still, however, could do without the pink glitter and hearts.

I am taking a portraiture class this semester, so expect lots of updates from that. I’m so happy that we’re starting from the bones up. And that we have an incredible text. It assumes that the reader (me) has very little knowledge of anatomy and physiology, which is great, because I’m fairly tabula rasa about the human face.

Today, everyone plopped down at an easel and drew a human skull for approximately four hours. To paraphrase Norman Rockwell, “You can never draw enough skulls.” The first two hours were challenging in the foreshortening of the skull. Sadly, it’s the kind of pain that you have to push through, because if you don’t get past it, your work will continue to look wrong. If it doesn’t hurt, you’re not doing it right.

For the first class, we drew a classmate for 35 and 15 minutes, respectively. There are several things I would like to work on this semester, and hopefully I get to improve! All of the below are pencil.