Wax Bloom

Hey, look at that – a month exactly since I last worked on this one. It’s been a busy month full of things that keep me away from drawing.

Colored Pencil on Pastelbord | 9 x 12"

I like the way this one is shaping up – I hadn’t been too happy with it when I last worked on it, so maybe a substantial if involuntary break was what it needed.

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Colored Pencil on Pastelbord | 6½ x 14"

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Colored Pencil on Pastelbord | 6½ x 14"

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Colored Pencil on Pastelbord | 6.5 x 14"

I know it doesn’t look like much more progress since the last update, but it’s several hours worth of additional detail and layers to what was already there. And, more importantly, I’m starting to like it.

Here is the same photo at a higher resolution if you are interested in all the layers and colors.

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I’ve been working on this piece of my father-in-law for the past week or so, but have been largely unhappy with it until today; which is not to say I am completely pleased with it now.

Colored Pencil on Pastelbord | 6.5 x 14"

This is my second start on this particular drawing, the first being a small 5×7" piece similar to my last drawing but I quickly realized there was no way I’d be able to achieve the level of detail I wanted at that size. I’m still not getting the details I want, so maybe I should have gone even bigger.

Technically what you see here is a third start, because after the first few layers of color I put down, things got muddied and blurry and I ended up pulling about two hours of work off the support with packing tape.

I feel like I’m starting to get a better feel for what needs to be done now, though, and I’m really appreciating the oil pencils I’m using in conjunction with my usual wax based pencils as they layer nicely over the wax pencils even when things get thick.

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Colored Pencil on Pastelbord | 5 x 7"

Kevin was also the subject of the first portrait I finished in 2008 … I like this one a lot better. I also enjoyed working at a small scale, too – it allowed me to hold the drawing in one hand and get close and personal to it, without having to lean over my drafting table and crush my back.

Not to mention it lets you do this:

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Colored Pencil on Pastelbord | 5 x 7"

Apparently watching the construction of your own face can be unsettling …

@SGChipman have I told you how much it freaks me out to watch this from over here?

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Colored Pencil on Pastelbord | 5 x 7"

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Colored Pencil on Pastelbord | 5 x 7″

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Early stages of a new and very small drawing:

5 x 7" | Colored Pencil on Pastelbord

Next to a pencil (and not even a brand new one) for scale:

When I ordered the 5×7 pastelbord, I didn’t realize it came in packs of three. I ordered what I thought was two, so got six. I like this small form factor and how it allows me to focus just on the face without the face being monstrously huge. Expect a few more close-in pieces like this one, I think.

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