The Freedom to Create

This is an update on my last post of "The Right Combination". I am considering what jewels to place on the portrait study. Recreating an image I had viewed many years ago, I am having difficulty with imagining the exact jewels I had originally seen in the photograph. So over the past few days I've been conducting a little research. I've discovered (or so I think) that the plates on the necklace were not necessarily "gold" but may be hammered brass. Giving thought to what natural elements would they have at the ready. What raw materials would they use? Raw gems such as turquoise, bone, beads, clay, metals such as brass, silver, copper. In the drawing below, I used my eraser end to put in place where I want the adornments to be. The shape of the headdress fitting the contour of the head, the nose ring, the earrings, the gemstones and placement of the necklace. This is my working copy of the portrait so I don't want to get hung up with the...

Achieving skin tones is a balancing act of stroke and blend to get the right combination. This is a pencil study focusing on the balance of tone referencing the African-American ethnicity. There was a photograph from years ago in a National Geographic magazine which stuck in my mind. The photograph was of an African tribal woman adorned in gold hammered jewelry and turquoise. It was an absolutely beautiful image. Searching the archives for this photo I came up short. I am going to have to reconstruct the image from memory. Before I can piece the complete image together it will be necessary for me to start with skin tones. Blending and softening the transition of dark and midtones to appear seamless. I chose a photo reference of this face as I liked the head position, the eyes looking downward in a reserved fashion, and the lighting against an all black background. A young, soft, innocence. The only white areas reflecting light are on the nose and portions of the lips which lif...