self portrait in charcoal 4/19/00

[cagathoc]

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Critiques/User/self4_19.JPG

Cindy Agathocleous

"What if imagination and art are not, as many of us might think, the frosting on life, but the fountainhead of human experience?" - Rollo May from The Courage to Create




[This message has been edited by cagathoc (edited April 20, 2000).]

[Kimber74]

Hi Cindy,

Nice values, Very 3-D. I love it!

It instantly reminded me of the expressionist portrait of the little girl that you did (which I LOVED), was she you?

[cagathoc]

Kim,

Thanks. Yes, she was me.


I think the nose still looks flat though. I used the highlight to define it too much maybe...

cindy

\

[sgtaylor]

How the heck did you lose 20#? I went on a diet once and gained 5#!
The mood in the piece is great - I wouldn't change that at all. I haven't been around long enough to get to know people's styles yet, so I wasn't sure if my remarks were to the point.
Anyway, great piece, and I'm looking forward to seeing more.

Oh, btw - no worries on the beauty front

[This message has been edited by sgtaylor (edited April 20, 2000).]

[MichaelRH]

(((Cindy))) I like this drawing..very expressive. I like the way you handled the medium...line, and the blending. You have been more expressive with this piece than realistic..(judging by your photo in "Chatters")--Very attractive I might add!)
You're blushing!!
I will have to go back and look at your photo again...and compare the two. Would almost like to see another photo of you posted along side your drawing..it would enable me to see how you've portrayed yourself, because I feel that artists often include elements in their natures..that (might) be different than how they are seen day to day. A more introspective look..lets say.
A good drawing Cindy!!

[MichaelRH]

Cindy..you must be at the computer?!?!
I'm seeing new posts as I post! lol
Love the eyes..eyebrows.. I'll try to find a sketch I did at Art Center...face...on toned canson paper..with black and white conte pencils...noses are VERY subtle shapes..well, all of the features of a face are...will comment more when I find (and post) this drawing. Talk with you soon..Mike

[MichaelRH]

.......................(will have to agree with sgtaylor..NO need to make beauty enhancement--adjustments!!)..so there!!

[This message has been edited by MichaelRH (edited April 20, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by MichaelRH (edited April 20, 2000).]

[cagathoc]

sgtaylor - weight watchers (and the fact that I went off some migraine medication that had caused me to gain the weight to begin with!) ;o

cindy

[tony]

I must say...

pretty foxy! :).

[sgtaylor]

Nice work Cindy! There are some anatomical issues with this piece, but they may simply be stylistic preferences, and for the most part they do not bother me. The nose is however a problem.

I wish I knew how to use this furshluginer photo shop program! I took the liberty of downloading your drawing and your photo from the chatters web page, and looking at them side by side is constructive. I wish I could show you what I'm talking about, but I'll have to settle for trying to tell you.

If you were going for an anatomically correct rendering, the forhead, jawline, and nose are the major problems. The forhead is too low, and the jawline rises too quickly making the lower part of the face too thin for the upper part. The mouth is not quite as wide as in the photo, but if you were to make it wider it would increase the problem of the lower face being too thin. Also, the eyes may be a little too far apart, increasing the width of the upper part of the face. As I said, these may be stylistic preferences, and I don't have a problem as long as you realize that they are not anatomically accurate.

I don't think that the shading or highlighting on the nose is the problem. It is consistent with the rest of the work, and I'm ok with that. The problem is that I am seeing too much of the bottom of the nose. If you look at your photograph (not quite the same angle, but close enough) you will notice that you can't see any of your nostril openings. On the drawing I'm seeing the nostrils fully open as if I were looking up at the bottom of the nose. Overall, it appears that we are looking at each other eye to eye, and your head is not tilted upwards, therefore I could not possibly see the bottom of the nose. (In the photo your face is tilted slightly downwards, so the nose would not be quite correct for your drawing, but it should give you a general idea of how the nose should be changed.)

I hope this is of some help. It looks like charcoal may work very well for you. Keep at it!

[cagathoc]

sgtaylor,

Thanks very much! BTW, I am 20# lighter now than in my cafe photo! But my face is still more square... I am aware of all the points you made, and I agree. I was going for a mood piece and not a likeness however! http://www.wetcanvas.com/ubb/smile.gif And the mood came out just right. Plus I always make my eyes larger and more wide set to try and look more beautiful http://www.wetcanvas.com/ubb/wink.gif...

LOL!


cindy

[amanda]

I really like this piece, I love charcoal and how you can push it around - it's kinda fun getting really messy too I think! I don't mind any anatomical probs, in fact I don't think they're problems at all. There are plenty of liknesses so it's great to see a sylistic piece like this.

[Julia]

I like it a lot. It's really nice. I see you use a lot of smudging. My only advice is that when you use the color paper (blue or gray) it's preferrable to use both black and white chrarcoal, black -for the shadows and white - for lights and hilights. The color of the paper works as the half tone.