Golden
 

Hi It's me again.

Don't worry, I promise this is the last drawing of her although I'm working on a pastel piece right now. I do plan on doing a mirror self portrait of similar style next week or so.

This one is 15"X 20" almost twice the size of the previous two. Have to say I love the bigger size better as I can fit in a bit more details. Going for a slightly cleaner style this time. It took a little longer but I really enjoy the process.Regular 2b and 4b pencils, nero pencil and white pastel on Canson Ml-Teintes (something new for me) .

I am quite happy with this one (which is a rare case), like it better than the previous two.Well, everything works better when the size goes bigger, the previous two were as tiny as action figures. This one has a good size, maybe I'll go even bigger for my SP.Even though it's supposed to be relatively loose ( comparing to my usual stuff ),I prefer keeping the detail and realism to certain extend. Come to a conclusion that working Too loose is against my nature. I might as well be true to myself. It's important to find the balance, I guess the cleaner style works better for me.

Can't be bothered uploading close ups, so if you'd like to see a bigger image, please go to: http://img309.imageshack.us/img309/5...ldenbig3kx.jpg


Thank you!

Isabel,

I like everything about it. The composition seems flawless, and the transition at the bottom appears natural and seamless.

What did you use as reference.

Hi Isabel,

I completely agree with you! Stick with this style, it really works for you.

This is really beautiful!

Thank you Mike and Carolyn, glad you like it!

I used 2 4"X6" color photos as reference. Snapped those photos a few weeks ago at my college after the morning lectures. Almost had to beg her to let me take those photos. She was so shy, didn't want to pose at first but I'd been begging her ever since we met. After seeing some of my old stuff, she finally gave in. The reason I drew her a lot is kind of pathetic, I don't get lovely models to pose for me very often. The funny thing is these girls don't love themselves as much as I love them :( They have lovely faces, why being so shy?

Wonder how you guys get people to pose for art. Anyone can give me some tips? I can't afford to pay too much money though.

I can't afford to hire a model at this stage, so I'll have to do heaps of mirror self portraits if I want to work from life :( well, the next drawing will definitely be a self portrait.

Isabel,

I think it happens best just the way you described it. The vast majority of people I have used as models have been acquaintances not strangers, people that I would come in contact with over time. I think that if you would carry with you a copy of this artwork and present yourself very straightforwardly you will have success. Of course it's best if their is a trade off of some sort. You can offer them a copy of the finished art like the one that you are showing them. Some people are eager to comply and some are not. When you give them a copy of your work you will find that they become your best salesperson, and, you can use them as reference.

What you say is so true. I find that the most beautiful people will often see themselves as completely flawed. They will shy away because they perceive themselves to be 3-5 pounds overweight, or they have an uncontrollable streak in their hair. I used to think they were just kidding, but they're not. If I used this criteria of self examination I would have jumped off a bridge long ago.

I would hate to suggest that you change anything that you do after seeing this lovely work, but have you thought about working from an 8x10 copy instead of a 4x6? You mentioned that you enjoyed working larger, I think you might also enjoy the larger reference. I can get a really good 8x10 print for $3.99. Not sure what the conversion would be.

Lovely drawing!

I've recently come to a similar conclusion about my work. Doing fast, loose work is SO uncomfortable to me.

Thank you so much for the advice, Mike. I'll keep a drawing and a camera with me all the time. Hope I'll have some luck. Sometimes I saw some interesting people on the street, I just wish I could draw them but I was too scared to speak not to mention asking them to pose.

I have a small 5mp Pentax compact digital camera and a Nikon film SLR. Since the SLR takes much better photos than my small Digi Cam, I took these reference photos with it. Usually I work from big photos like 8" X 10" or 8" X 12", actually I have a few enlarged for the pastel painting. When I first asked her to pose, I only had pastel in mind. Then when I got the photos developed, I started doodling with my pencils and eventually got addicted to it. This drawing, for instance, was an "accidental decision". I bought the canson paper for pastel initially but it eats up the tooth too quickly, so I tried it with graphite. As I got carried away with the drawing, I couldn't be bothered to enlarge the ref photos. But it's ok, I have one photo of her pose and one close up of her face. Both photos are very clear. Besides, with this "looser work" I don't really need to see so much detail. So it turned out alright I guess.

Thank you Michele! yes, experimentation is good but I think it's more important to find your own artistic language in the process.

BTW, if it's not too much trouble, can anyone tell me how to make good quality copies of drawings/ paintings at a reasonable price? I had one 15" X 20" drawing professionally scanned and printed, it cost $80 for the scanning and $50 for each print. I had 4 prints made altogether, cost me a total of over AUD$ 280 which is around US$200 and I had to wait for a week. I'm not even sure if my original drawing worth $200.

If it's anything like this one, you could add a zero on the end and it still wouldn't be over priced.

Isabel,

I think you could do much better than that price. You need to learn to photograph your own art work. I think your digital camera (certainly the most convenient) could do an adequate job of that. There are threads here that talk about photographing your art work, look in the photography section. Of course the cheapest way to give a copy is to just give a photograph of the art work.

What I do is get my best digital image, then copy it to a CD. I then take the CD to one of several places in the city where I live in Florida. From the CD they can make copies onto either paper or canvas (giclee). This can be done for much under $100 (probably about $50 for a 20x16) depending on the size. I would think that in a city the size of Sydney you could find all the services you would need.

This is really quite exquisite, I very much like everything you post!

This is a very beautiful piece, Isabel, great personality. I'm scared to see what you can do with the pastel. If you're not struggling with them, lie and say you did! :o

If you're lucky, you will go through different stages in your life, then decide which is best for you. To make up your mind this early in life is, imo, a mistake. I applaud you for working looser, and you've done a great job with it, but there is nothing wrong with experimenting. There seems to be a similar discussion in my recent thread, so I'll discuss my personal experience there rather than take away from your
thread.

I'm sure you will do great things whatever you decide to do.

Well said!

Wow Isabel, this is just gorgeous!

Michlele, I doubt anyone would want to pay $2000 for my drawing. I haven't done a commission before. But thank you for the encouragement!

Mike, Thanks again for the great tips. Now I just need a better camera. I'm saving money for a Digital SLR.

Mary, Thank you! It's great to know that you enjoy my work. What an honor!

Jimmie, you're right! it's not wise to limit myself to anything. I guess the best way to advance is to keep taking risk, not staying in a comfort zone for too long. I notice everytime I made a significant progress is when I made a decision to change. If something doesn't feel right to me anymore, it needs to be changed. Change is scary, but it also opens up new possibilities. Anything could happen.

Terri, Thank you again!

Don't sell yourself short. This work is truly of the highest quality.

Isabel, you are so talented! It is a beautiful drawing, so masterful and sensitive.

Alex

Isabel, sorry so late in responding. I was out of town.

This is a wonderful marriage of loose and detailed. I think you have found a terrific balance of the two! I do so love your work. I really do. I also know what you mean when you try to reach out of your comfort zone but need to be true to yourself. I will never be an impressionist but I think you can do anything you want. You have proved that to be true.

I might also add that I don't think how many commissions you have done matters that much. Your price should be comensurate with your amazing work.

Again, very well done.

Isabel this is incredibly wonderful, right down to your signature - I love the stamp!

Michele, Thanks! I'll take your words by heart.

Lisa, It's always great to hear from you. yeah... I just feel tired of doing the same thing over and over again. Now my biggest challenge is to keep it exciting and refreshing for me and for the viewers. I don't want to get to a point where I lose my passion one day. Being a good drawer doesn't automatically make me an artist. Art is about passion. If my work doesn't speak for itself, or doesn't show a bit of my passion, then I fail to be an artist, despite my patience and technical ability. I know I can do a decent job of rendering, but my real challenge is to capture life, to share the emotional impact the sitter has on me and to do a drawing that