Try again

Well, I’m still brewing a portrait of my friend Amy, but I wasn’t sure about the pose from my last sketch (amongst other things) which made her seem rather haughty (which she certainly is not). Fortunately, I do have another photo taken at the same time, from another angle. So today’s exercise was to have a look at the general shapes, dimensions and shades in that particular reference, and see how that might work.

Using a refillable brush-pen for this kind of sketching gives a very immediate, satisfying sketch. It’s prone to giving a deeper mark where you don’t want one though, and over the last few face sketches I’ve done I’ve counteracted this by using a white gel marker to add back some light. The effect is interesting, and I quite like it.

I think I prefer this view as a potential portrait,  to my mind it definitely conveys more of the sitter’s true personality and vivacity; maybe let the idea stew a little more…it doesn’t do to rush these things (or so I tell myself). A painting will come eventually!