Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Perspecitve, Shadows, and Freckles

You might remember that I commented on my desire to stretch my drawing capabilities when I last posted something drawn (see "Detach"). Well today, I decided I'd take some time to push myself. I looked around the house for something interesting and found a small stone pot
(1 1/2 inches tall or so) and an empty cinnamon tin, and sat down to draw. My challenge to self was to focus on perspective and shadows. It was pretty hard. I'm not at all used to so closely studying an object. I noted the times I finished each one because the shadows are so drastically different for each of them. Indeed, I took a lunch break and called my mom before starting the cinnamon tin! When I came back to the table, I was totally surprised by how different both objects looked.
(Remember to click on the picture for a closer look.)



After the cinnamon tin was done, I decided to have a go at a person. One of my favorite photos of me & Paul hangs on the wall right above my desk, so I decided that mine was as good a face as any to try. It, too, was very hard to draw. Besides the challenges of the head-on perspective and shadows--which can either make the subject look like she has a black eye or, if done effectively, can provide definition to a drawing--I've got freckles! How to not make them seem like mistakes or moles or disfigurements... sheesh!

I'm really proud of myself for giving myself this time to do something I've been wanting to try for awhile. Now I know what I'm capable of if I give it time, and what I need to do to get (again) where I want to be: practice! (And I hope to take a drawing class sometime soon too!)

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving
(my fave holiday ever!).

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