Beauty in the Eyes

Christmas is upon us and it has been a busy time at the market studio. I have completed several commissions for gifts and have had a little time to think about the direction I want to follow as an artist in 2013.
I will be expanding my studio space in January, the opportunity to take over the whole space that has currently been shared is too good to miss, so stay tuned for more news on that:)
March will bring the World Figure Skating Championships to the city where I live and I am excited for the opportunity for exposure,  there will be people here from all over the world. My studio space, located in a market area, is directly across the road from the complex where this event is to be held and  there is a constant flow of foot traffic through it.

In November I completed a rather large portrait (16 x 20) that I think really showcases the use of lights and darks in pencil work. The image of this elderly gentleman really caught hold of my emotions when I saw it,  and I knew I had to capture him with pencil. I took pictures along the way so that the viewer can see the steps to completion. In this portrait I also made use of a powdered graphite, a new product for me. With the use of a fixative on it as well, one can layer it on to produce wonderful darks, something I have struggled with in the past.

I like to start with the eyes on a portrait; it just is weird to have a face with no eyes:) After outlining a basic sketch of the eye area, I have used just 3b and 5b pencils and an eraser, along with a small blending stomp to create the iris and the shadows and highlights in the eye lid and white of the eye. This old fellow has deeply textured skin and I used my pencils and putty eraser copiously through the whole portrait to create the life lines on his face.

(clicking on a picture will bring all these views into one lightbox format for closer viewing)

Here you see the second eye added and the beginning of the hand rested against the side of the face.

Dark hairs ( the eyebrows, here) are applied using a sharp dark pencil and fine white hair is done with a stick eraser applied over previously laid down graphite. Working time to this point is about 12 hours.

Hands are a challenge, especially with the amount of detail that age brings on and these are no exception! Again copious use of an eraser creates the definition in the lines and folds of the hand, adding highlights and shadows. About 20 hours.

The beginnings of the beard shown here; laying down a layer of graphite in the shadow areas of the beard and then erasing out the fine white hairs and adding in the darker hairs with a sharp, dark pencil will create the look of a thick white beard.

Nearing completion at about 30 hours, I used the powdered graphite to produce the dark background. In the past I have used my 6b and 8b pencils to do this but always end up with a smudgy look. The powder goes on with a brush and if you put on a layer and then spray it with workable fixative, you can go back and add another layer of graphite. I will definitely use this product again:) I've also started on his knitted cap; I will apply the powdered graphite for this too, and use an eraser to lift out the highlights in the ribbing of the cap.

Here is the finished portrait; total time 36 hours.

The reference I used for this is a free stock photo from morguefile.com