I put it down to not having my mind in the game - competing priorities, etc. Today, I felt more composed and tried another attempt with a graphite stick (thicker than a pencil) which seemed to go a little better...but I still cannot bring myself to publish it.
In the interests of being honest about this process however, I must confess to copying the basic outline of an image I blew up. Should I be wrestling with this shortcut a little more? At this point, I'm not going to. The only work I'm plagiarising is my own selfie.
However, I suspect this technique runs the real risk of merely reproducing another photo image. I need to be creative in my colour-selection and the subsequent mood I convey through the medium of choice. If I fail in those things, then even if I've achieved a reasonable likeness - I would've failed the challenge.
Minor shortcuts are forgivable, but complete duplication is not creative expression at all. So in that regard, the hardest challenge is still ahead of me. I'm excited about trying a new technique with an old medium, but I'll experiment on scrap paper first.
Chris, not sure what you mean by copied. Do you mean traced? Personally I think the devil is in the details so copy or not, it's going to become involved. It's a tough subject but I am learning a lot. I hope you are too. Just remember that it doesn't have to be perfect ( tell ME that! Lol)
ReplyDeleteYes, traced onto clear paper. Or I buy mine from the lunch wrapping aisle of the supermarket, called greaseproof paper. Very handy stuff. Learning a lot and its even pushing me closer to watercolours which I hope to experiment with my self-portrait next. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, I see it now. The paper looked very white to me and I focused on your drawing more than the translucency at first. I look forward to seeing what comes of this. I think that while you have the tracing you should place it over the charcoal (assuming its the same photo you worked with) and take notes of what you can change even if you don't want to work on that charcoal drawing again. Just to take notes.
DeleteThat's a good idea, to see how I went wrong with former freehand sketches.
ReplyDelete