I've worked out which exhibitions/competitions I will have time to prepare entries for and so now have a logical sequence to follow. A couple more coloured pencil pieces to do first and then back to pastels (faster than coloured pencils) for some wildlife/British species in a few weeks' time.
I do have some commissions coming up so will need to be very disciplined about cracking on with the coloured pencil portraits in the meantime.
I took so many photos in India that its hard to decide which 'characters' to draw first, but I thought I should portray a lady or two. I have some photos of stunningly beautiful children/young ladies but I have a weakness for wrinkles - so much more interesting to draw. This lady fits the 'happy medium' a few wrinkles but still an intelligent attractive face and most importantly a brightly coloured outfit. When its pouring with rain at home and everything looks grey and miserable, I love to see bright colours. Yellow is perfect to remind us that Spring is on its way and our first daffodils are now beginning to put on a lovely display in the garden.
The new camera arrived. It looks similar to my 'current' one but has fewer features - it is actually a cheaper model but its saving grace is the more powerful zoom capacity. I used it tonight to photograph progress on my drawing. As with the 'current' camera it doesn't like to use 'flash'. Panasonics seem to cope better with photography in dim light and no flash ....
I'm using light grey pastelmat for this colored pencil drawing. Its a tad dark here but I photographed it under artificial light tonight without using my daylight bulb lamps.
A few of my Blogger friends have been complaining about bad experiences at their health centres, long waiting times, incorrect appointments etc. Well, I had to go for a medical 'procedure' today which I've been putting off for a while since I received the summons at the end of last year. I got to the medical centre today to be told they'd made a mistake and I was a year early. I could have insisted on having the procedure but it was made quite obvious that the sensible solution would be to wait at least till the end of this year. As I know it will be a little painful, I was happy to oblige but it was a waste of several hours and all because somebody had misread the computerised records.
Tomorrow David and I will be working an 'extra' day at Pilgrims Hospice eBay office to list as many items as possible for auction whilst we are away in the Canaries so no artwork time tomorrow. I know we've just come back from India but that was 'special' holiday and it was very hectic tour schedule so pretty tiring. We really do seem to be rushing round like headless chickens at the moment so am looking forward to a relaxing break in the sunshine with our many friends on Fuerteventura.
We'll have family staying at the house whilst we are away but I won't have to dash round cleaning up first as they'll have their dog with them so no point in washing the wood floors etc.
I do have some commissions coming up so will need to be very disciplined about cracking on with the coloured pencil portraits in the meantime.
I took so many photos in India that its hard to decide which 'characters' to draw first, but I thought I should portray a lady or two. I have some photos of stunningly beautiful children/young ladies but I have a weakness for wrinkles - so much more interesting to draw. This lady fits the 'happy medium' a few wrinkles but still an intelligent attractive face and most importantly a brightly coloured outfit. When its pouring with rain at home and everything looks grey and miserable, I love to see bright colours. Yellow is perfect to remind us that Spring is on its way and our first daffodils are now beginning to put on a lovely display in the garden.
The new camera arrived. It looks similar to my 'current' one but has fewer features - it is actually a cheaper model but its saving grace is the more powerful zoom capacity. I used it tonight to photograph progress on my drawing. As with the 'current' camera it doesn't like to use 'flash'. Panasonics seem to cope better with photography in dim light and no flash ....
I'm using light grey pastelmat for this colored pencil drawing. Its a tad dark here but I photographed it under artificial light tonight without using my daylight bulb lamps.
A few of my Blogger friends have been complaining about bad experiences at their health centres, long waiting times, incorrect appointments etc. Well, I had to go for a medical 'procedure' today which I've been putting off for a while since I received the summons at the end of last year. I got to the medical centre today to be told they'd made a mistake and I was a year early. I could have insisted on having the procedure but it was made quite obvious that the sensible solution would be to wait at least till the end of this year. As I know it will be a little painful, I was happy to oblige but it was a waste of several hours and all because somebody had misread the computerised records.
Tomorrow David and I will be working an 'extra' day at Pilgrims Hospice eBay office to list as many items as possible for auction whilst we are away in the Canaries so no artwork time tomorrow. I know we've just come back from India but that was 'special' holiday and it was very hectic tour schedule so pretty tiring. We really do seem to be rushing round like headless chickens at the moment so am looking forward to a relaxing break in the sunshine with our many friends on Fuerteventura.
We'll have family staying at the house whilst we are away but I won't have to dash round cleaning up first as they'll have their dog with them so no point in washing the wood floors etc.
wrinkles are more interesting to try to portray, the shadows and different shapes they make on a person.
ReplyDeleteI don't expect anything but bad service from our health centre, but I have had really good experiences at the hospital lately
A beautiful painting, Sue!! SO realistic!! Enjoy your holiday and I will look forward to seeing this finished!!!
ReplyDeleteYour portraits are just so beautiful, Sue! So glad you don't have to go in to the hospital, though now you have the trauma of waiting for that day to roll around again next year!
ReplyDeleteYou have captured the warmth in this lady's face and eyes, beautiful work!
ReplyDeleteI let out a crack of laughter at your hospital story after mine last week. Hopefully my renewed appointment will go OK on Tuesday.
ReplyDeleteWoman started well, although I do agree wrinkles make faces more interesting. However, not everyone has them so it would be unrealistic just to paint older faces with wrinkles wouldn't it?
Oooooh! I think this is going to be a favorite of mine! She has such a self-assured toss of her head and, as you say, very elegant looking.
ReplyDeleteKeep us posted on your new camera. Which model did you get? It looks as if it takes some pretty darned good low-light photos.
Glad to hear that Jennifer - hope your stitches/scars are healing quickly - I don't really have any gripes about our local practice .. this was a mistake on their part but generally they're very good and very proactive at calling us in for tests and evaluations etc ... preventative healthcare.
ReplyDeleteThank you Hilda and Sherry. When you see this close up I've put in more lines than show in this photo but I'll be doing lots of adjusting once the brightly coloured clothes are more advanced.
Hi Jo. If I have wrinkles, I expect everyone else to have wrinkles too LOL. Seriously, I do have some lovely photos of younger folk which I may draw later but I'm looking for 'more character' in the subjects just now and I think that comes with laughter lines ....
Thanks Jan.
ReplyDeleteI think she has a 'strong face' which appeals to me.
This new camera is actually a step backwards in terms of the functions it has (and its cheaper) but it has a better zoom. Ideally, I'd like my old/existing camera model to upgrade the zoom capacity but sadly they haven't/aren't going to to that.
and although they are both Panasonics they use different batteries, chargers and lens covers so I'll have to buy lots of extras .... I'm sure its all planned by their marketing department to keep us spending money.
The Panasonics I've had (3 now) all delay using flash till its really gloomy. It is possible to override the settings and force the flash to come on but quite honestly, it doesn't do a bad job on its own so why change it? If I was an ace photographer I'd do it but then I wouldn't be using a 'bridge camera'