Here we go again

No graphite this week—instead it was charcoal. And although I bought some in order to complete the assignment, when it came down to it this morning I just didn't want to play. I was tired and grumpy and didn't feel like getting messy or struggling with an unfamiliar medium. So I decided to skip this week's assignment and focus on completing something for one of the other classes for which I am enrolled.

But...I liked the model, especially the strong contrasts in her face; and I'm cranky from not painting anything for a week! So tonight I got out my Silver "Black Velvet" brush, which holds a lot of water, and painted her portrait on greytone mixed media paper, using only layers of Payne's Grey watercolor. After I was done, I couldn't resist adding a little rosiness to her face and, since her hair is wet from either the shower or swimming, I also put in a turquoise and blue background with the Daniel Smith turquoise that granulates a little. And I dabbed in a little white iridescent ink for highlights, which I kind of regret, because it doesn't go with the rest, but it felt like it needed just a little pop.

It's not what I was told to do; but I'm pretty pleased with it. I'm hoping, however, that every lesson this year isn't going to be some form of drawing, shading, and cross-hatching; I took this class to paint portraits, and that's what I want to do.

"Roberta"—pencil, watercolor, and ink on 184-lb. toned gray hotpress paper, 9x12 inches.