Jolanda 2

Carl Toboika · 02-26-2004, 11:08 PM

Wow! Drawing, personality, sensitive tones.

Michele Rushworth · 02-27-2004, 12:23 AM

This is one of those perfect images that looks like it was simply blown onto the paper by the spirit of the artist. Gorgeous!

Jimmie Arroyo · 02-27-2004, 12:32 AM

This is so good, I had to go look for Jolanda1! They are both very beautiful, I have a sense like I know this girl through your work. I'm now experimenting with charcoal with many failed attempts, I will use your work as inspiration.

Jean Kelly · 02-27-2004, 01:20 AM

David,

What kind of paper are you using and is this charcoal? How big is it, and what tool do you use for blending? This is wonderful, like Yolanda #1. Lots of character in this face, and you've captured it so well.

Jean

David Draime · 02-27-2004, 01:15 PM

Thanks everyone for your nice comments. You all really made my day. I don't feel lonely anymore!

Jimmie, I've seen your "failed attempts." You can't fool me. Actually, I've used you as an inspiration for my drawings, particularly how you fade out the image, the "unfinished" parts of your drawings. It's always been my achille's heel. The rendering part for me is the easy part. Time consuming, tedious - yes. But I always have trouble knowing when and where to "give it a rest." You do it beautifully.

Jean, the size is approximately 16 X 20." I'm sorry, I'm not sure what the paper is. I often just grab a color or tone I like and don't pay much attention to what it is I'm using. (I know I should!)
I use a hard (HB) charcoal pencil (General's) sharpened often to a fine point. I don't smudge it at all, I don't use a blending stick. I just render it by laying down values, a little at a time. I never mix the white with the charcoal (you know that

). I do sometimes smudge the white highlights, but never the charcoal. I guess I'm too much of a control freak!

Jean, I just saw you newly revised "Gary" and it is absolutely stunning, beautiful, gorgeous, masterful. Bravo. I really like it!

David

Jean Kelly · 02-27-2004, 02:17 PM

David,

I find it hard to believe there is no blending. It looks so smooth and effortless, could you post a detail (please) so I can see how you are laying down the charcoal?? I wouldn't be able to keep my fingers out of it. Jimmie finds his structure with line, you find it how? Both are wonderful and so different.

Thanks for the compliment, you've made my day!

Jean

Jimmie Arroyo · 02-27-2004, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Jimmie, I've seen your "failed attempts."

Ha, no you have'nt!! I have several in the "botched" file at home, if they survived the trash can. I only have one charcoal that I'm happy with. My 'hacel' piece was originally a charcoal, but was very unhappy with the results. I'm gonna try it again soon, just need the right model and pose.

I agree with finding when to finish being a challenge. When I think I've found it, I sign it, then study it for a while. I tend to find the finish easier when it is signed. Steven Assael does a great of this and Ingres was so good at it, it looked planned.

David Draime · 02-27-2004, 05:19 PM

Hi Jean,

Here's a detail, though I'm not sure with the pixelation if it shows much. To get the smoothness in these drawings I'll lay down a value for a particular area, almost always using a very sharp point (my trusty electric pencil sharpener is always at hand). There will be a certain roughness to it and I may see some individual strokes. So I then go into that area and "hit" all the little light spots to bring them in line with the overall value of that particular passage. If I keep doing this, I can get it to look smooth as velvet. It's tedious work - I feel a bit like a surgeon when I'm in this mode - but, for me, the end result is worth it. I kind of just "zone out" when I'm doing this kind of rendering. I will, of course, often step back to see what I've done and where I'm going.

My goal is to achieve a kind of "glow" by really nailing the values and the transitions between values. For me, it's all about values and edges. Nothing more than that. As I see it, subtlety is beauty. I love doing portraits because there is a universe of subtleties that is a human face. Subtleties of lighting, value transitions, edges, highlights, as well as the expression, emotion of the subject. It's my job just to notice as much of that as possible.

I do think somewhere down the road I'll get tired of working this way and opt for a looser, "less fanatically contolled" way of working. It's very time consuming and, at times, downright boring. But so far, I'm pleased with the results so I keep doing it.

David