Portrait Drawing: Days 2 and 3

Day 3

The first drawing is from day 2. It was the first class involving a live model. Although I would have to say that the drawing doesn't quite have the likeness to the model that I had hoped (mouths are so effing hard to draw!), her nose was indeed that pronounced.

The second and third drawings are from day 3. Same model, but drastically different poses and light sources. The first one may be more accurate, but I had a better time drawing the second one. The room was pitch black and there was a bright spotlight shining on the model which created inky black shadows across her face. That's the stuff that really grabs me. When I first attempted drawing in charcoal 5 years ago, I always used a dramatic light source. There's something about the shapes that form from the dark shadows that help me flesh out the different planes of the face. I get a better sense of volumes.

Surprisingly, and I'm not saying this is a good thing, no one gave me any criticism on day 3. At the end of each class we hang up our drawings on the walls and we go over individual drawings with comments and suggestions to help each artist improve. For whatever reason, I only received compliments. I'm not really sure what to make of it. While it's nice to receive compliments, I prefer a good critique. When I was a dancer, I always felt victorious if the instructor paid enough attention to me to criticize me. It meant that they cared that I wasn't doing my best. They knew that I could do better (even if I didn't know it yet) and they would push me to get there. It was the ultimate flattery. When they said nothing it was because they weren't paying close attention. That was my experience with dance. Granted, it is a completely different art form than drawing, but I still feel that all artistic pursuits flourish with the help of a little criticism. Dontcha think?