I love learning about things, but you might have guessed that by now. Here’s some progress on a portrait 
I’m doing. I got permission to do a drawing based on this great photo.. which came from the Kerrville Music Festival family. 
Looking at the photo I can imagine making up a story, a song, a watercolor… the image gives me happy, tender, and optimistic feelings.
Values and
drawing contours are areas I want to understand better. How does that magic flip occur –from seeing two dimensions to believing you are seeing 3 dimensions? The change seems as dramatic to me as the difference between seeing someone a block away vs. meeting him or her and having a heart to heart conversation.
I found a great course online for less than $10 (Realistic Portrait with Graphite Pencil taught by Diego Catalan Amilivia. Domestika.org). It is a “beginner course” but I may watch this over and over for the next decade. The information is dense and presented without any silly posturing. Reading the English subtitles of the Spanish and watching the picture is tricky, but I can rerun anything to catch up.
Creepy skull images have never interested me, but if you want to draw a face it helps to know what’s under the skin. How do we tell one person from another? What makes our physical appearances different? Trying to draw a skull, I noticed things I’ve never seen before. Cool
. I’m making myself slow down and work in layers.
I’m told that anyone can draw well if they focus, slow down, measure proportions, be patient, and learn to see differently. Being “up in years” there’s no ego stress for me in experimenting. The adventure is the excitement.
If the voice in your head says, “You can’t do it” … don’t let that keep you from exploring and having fun. In a few weeks I’ll share with you my finished sketch.
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