reprise (siena)

Charcoal on Strathmore drawing, 17" x 13".

after wringing all the changes on siena's features i wanted to leave her as she started (nov. 10).

even this short stint of drawing has improved my hand and accuracy in rendering proportions. (compare with previous version of this pose.) i am looking for ways to incorporate drawing into my daily routine.

the main point i learned from this excursion is the incredible subtlety of facial details. i would look between the reference photo and the drawing as work progressed, and toward the end it would take me a minute or two to identify something that needed correcting. often it was a tiny change, but it would have a large effect on the emotion in the image.

the mouth and eyes are particularly heavy with significance; the nose wrinkles or flares in some expressions but typically is rather immobile.

as one example, just the point where the eyelid edges cut across the iris, and the arc of the eyelid edges in relation to the pupil, have great weight in the facial expression. (see the diagram examples ... each conveys a distinct emotion or state of mind.)

in the same way, each lip divides into three or four thickenings from one corner to the other, and the spacing, profile and connections between these define the mouth gesture.

i recall the tutorials i looked at to learn to draw the face: they reduced everything to schematics and symbolism. i understand better now how the face has an unfathomable depth and complexity because it represents an irreducible individuality.