Day 16

Yes, I'm running behind. This is the model for Day 14, and I missed out Day 11 as well as 15 and 16. I will probably catch up at some point, but I have a couple of deadlines tomorrow and more next week that are interfering with sketch time.

This was, once again, an exercise that people were supposed to do using ballpoint pens. Although some people love the practice and excel at it, I can think of nothing more tedious than using three to five colors of pens to do crosshatch shading until it gets to the right levels, so I once again did my face using watercolor.

I did, however, take the lesson itself into account. The model, Nabila, had an extraordinarily white skin, but with prominent cheekbones and facial features that cried out for accentuation (which is where all that cross-hatching was supposed to come in). So I left large parts of her face the white of the paper, then took my reliable Naples Yellow from Daniel Smith and went in on both the slightly shaded and the heavily shaded parts. After that dried, I went back with several roses and a purple to finish off the contouring, and then filled in the eyes and hair with a deep color mixed from burnt umber and ultramarine.

I think I caught a good likeness; but I think I also fulfilled the assignment to the best of my ability, given the different materials involved. Perhaps, at some point in this 30-day process when I am not so rushed, I will actually try some different media, but for now I am happy painting portraits and learning something from each painting, even if it isn't media-related.

#30Faces30Days

"Nabila"

Pencil/eraser, watercolor

Bee sketchbook