Saturday, September 15, 2007

Cheeky Charcoal


Charcoal - 30 mins

Another self portrait from life, slightly less of a frown this time.

Below are two shots, one before cheek adjustments taken at 25 mins and one after cheek adjustments taken at 30 mins. An improvement I think you'll agree!

Perhaps the eyes are a little too large, I have large eyes and I think when working on these self portraits I tend to emphasise features slightly, good or bad. E.G. I always draw the eyes a little large and I always make myself look gaunt and old but I am aware that I drink nothing but coffee and live on 4 hours sleep a night, so maybe I carry that knowledge, subconsciously, into my art?
Maybe I just focus on my 'bad bits' and emphasise them because I know they are there?



3 comments:

Joan Y said...

Anita, your self portraits are insightful and beautiful. I took away a lot of lessons from your own experiences and referenced your post on my blog ... I'd be honored if you took a look. Thanks for saying what I wish I could say if I was as eloquent. :) Thanks for sharing!

Anita Davies said...

Oh Joan, I am delighted that you feel you gained something from my posts.
Thankyou so much for your kind words, for visiting frequently and for managing to jot a comment down before you leave...It means so much.
Off to your blog now...

Anonymous said...

This is great to see your changes. And read your commentary. I think self-portraits are difficult because we have a mental image of what we would like to look like, and then there is the reality. I have tried self-portraits several times and not ben happy with the results. But, you are inspiring me to maybe try again.