The self-portrait that took forever

 

Ever had a project that took forever to complete to satisfaction? Well, meet the self-portrait that took forever. *winks*

The problem wasn't the actual portrait drawing but the colours I chose. I went with really cool-toned colours and ended up looking a little vampirish. *LOL*

Once I added some warm tones, it started to look less vampirish and more human, albeit a human with an overzealous application of blush. *LOL* But I'm pretty happy with the eye brows...they look like mine. ;)

Happy week ahead friends! :)

Pin It

Another pastel portrait

I'm definitely way way behind in my #the100dayproject this year. But I am happy with the portrait pieces that I did complete. :)

These days I find myself really drawn to my pastel pencils. I feel like a kid playing with chalk...mistakes are easily correctable and your hands get really dirty. You can't really get sharp details but the blurry effect is very flattering for portraits.

Like most of my portraits, I'm never done. Of course I thought I was done when I took photos of this portrait but as I was writing this post, I know where I need to go make adjustments once I finish this post. *LOL*

Happy month ahead friends! :)

Pin It

Another self-portrait from my sketchbook

I haven't been drawing much of late. This was a self-portrait I started back in December 2019 (over a few lunch breaks aka art-on-the-go sessions) and finally added the finishing touches over lunch yesterday. *winks*

I struggled a lot with this one due to my lack of practice...can you tell? *LOL*

Definitely working on mastering hair in 2020. Usually I'm too tired from "fixing" the face...*hahaha*

(Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils and Uniball Signo White pen on Strathmore toned gray sketchbook.)

Hope you are having a great week so far my friends! :)

Pin It

A mixed media self-portrait on canvas

As you know, I've been practising drawing self-portraits in my sketchbook this year. I decided to use one of the sketches as my reference and work on my second mixed media self-portrait on canvas (see my first mixed media self-portrait on canvas). Of course, I chose to use the self-portrait sketch that drove me nuts because I like to "torture" myself unnecessarily. *LOL*

The background is a mish mash of scrunched up wrapping tissue, gesso, acrylic paints and inks. Then I did my initial sketch with a waterbrush pen filled with purple Liquitex acrylic ink. I like working with this ink because of its transparency (lets me build layers) and open time (even when it dries to touch, I can still lighten the colour with a wet towel and vigorous rubbing).

This was how it looked mid-point....bearing little resemblance to me. *hahaha*

Here was how it looked when I was working on the details...

Moving forward, I might have to reconsider how I do the backgrounds for my portrait paintings. While the tissue and gesso added some nice texture, it also created weird bumps and uneven surfaces which made it difficult to paint over.

Plus, I might have been too heavy-handed with my inks when working on the background. See the green bits on the forehead and cheek? The green keeps emerging even after several layers of heavy-body artist grade acrylic paint. If people ask, I shall say it's artistic style but you and I know both the truth *shh...don't tell ok?*

I hung my painting up on the wall and tweaked the details over the course of a few days. Apparently, walking past a painting every day helps you see it with fresh eyes. I think I'm going to seal this painting and move on to the next. What do you think?

Pin It

The self-portrait that drove me nuts

Yes friends. Meet the self-portrait in my sketchbook that drove me nuts for a couple of weeks.

It started well. I established some likeness at the beginning which seemed promising...

But of course, the facial tone was completely off and I had to work on that....

Once I looked less vampirish and more human, I discovered that the eyes seemed a little lopsided....

And then it seemed like the jawline was a little too pronounced. *LOL*

Guess what comes with practice is your ability to discover "flaws" in your work more readily. *winks*

I'm sure I will tweak it again some point in the future as I hone my drawing skills but for now, this one is done. At this angle, she does look okay. Hehehe...:)

Pin It

Another self-portrait from the sketchbook

Apparently this is the year of self-love or narcissism judging by the number of self-portraits I've been sharing. *winks*

I started with a single coloured pencil sketch with my non-dominant hand...

Then I went in with the colours...

A little more progress...

Fine-tuning the details...with minor adjustments made to the lips, eyes and cheekbones.

Pin It

Mixed Media Monday: Sketching with my non-dominant hand

Artist Ivy Newport likes to start her portrait-sketching with her non-dominant hand because it is looser and you can get more organic lines. Something about drawing what you see rather than what you know. So I decided to give it a go in my latest self-portrait drawing.

Brace yourself friends...it ain't pretty! *LOL*

I gave you fair warning didn't I? *winks*

Let's look at the positives shall we? It clearly looks like a face. So 1 point for Team Yvonne's Left Hand. The placement of the features is pretty spot-on too. Mind you, no erasing was involved. Another point for Team Yvonne's Left Hand, agree? Hehehe.

And it took like five minutes. Because Team Yvonne's Left Hand isn't that adept at holding a coloured pencil and wanted to get it done quickly. Seriously though, Team Yvonne's Right Hand isn't that great at sketching either.

I must agree that the lines are pretty organic... the brain focuses on the reference photo and just commands the eye-to-left-hand to just draw what you see.

Here's a look at how Team Yvonne's Right Hand tried to "save" the sketch. ;) Still using that single coloured pencil.

A little more progress...

Here is the arsenal of supplies I used for this monochromatic portrait.

So, have you tried using your non-dominant hand for art?

Pin It

This month’s self-portrait from the sketchbook

Hello friends! Just sharing this month’s self-portrait from the sketchbook. Some people call it narcissism, I call it self-love. *LOL*

This time when I was colouring at McDonald's, a staff walked by and said,"Hey, that's you!" :) Guess I must be doing something right.

I must say that learning more about the contours of my face makes me more aware of my facial imperfections. Like how I have 2 different eye shapes. *winks*

Hope you are having a great week so far. :)

Pin It

Mixed Media Tuesday: The journey of a self-portrait

Oh well. You know the day would come when I would attempt a self-portrait painting right? And a large one too! Because your girl is crazy! *winks*

I started with my usual mixed media messy background play with paints, inks, stencils and gesso. Then I went in with my rough sketch using a charcoal vine. It's messy but totally erasable (with a wet cloth) so you don't feel so committed to your lines (haha!)

As you can clearly see, I'm sooooooo bad at sketching! I mean, she looks nothing like the photo right?

Then I went in with my first layer of acrylic paints and worked on the details with a water brush pen filled with ink. Nephew #1 came into my room at this point and asked me who I was painting. The first thing he said was, "Why does she look so fat?" *LOL*

Here I am fine-tuning the details after I scaled down on those massive fat cheeks. It's weird that we see ourselves so differently. I've always felt that I've such chubby cheeks.

After hours of painting and re-painting because the folks said she looked nothing like me, I was finally done when nephew #1 said, "Wow. What did you do? She looks like you."

Now of course, I have to paint everyone in the family. At least that's what mum says. And you know, mum is the Empress Dowager. *winks*

What do you think?

Pin It