Portrait study Of ~Elle~ in Charcoal

[lovin art]

Hey there Kiran , I gota say, Ive always ment to say ~ (incase I never get the chance ) I love your Name its so groovy .... ok now thats off my chest , sorry Im not myself of late .... but yes your right this is most impressive, I have great teachers here as you can see , and really its funny how much you/me start to notice these things ~well almost notice (Ive still a path to tread do we ever stop , , meaning I am a emotive person , I want to make beautifully soft classical paintings one day of my daughter a series of her i guess , I have them in my head as we speck and its not hard to be inspired by her shes quite striking as you know ...I think this means I am really growing inside as an Artist with Vision and for saying to me this is more then just a Portrait, well ' you just climbed into my heart Kiran , and there you will remain ...

[NancyMP]

Sandra, this is much more realistic of Nell than I've ever seen you do before -- you are really growing by leaps and bounds at the atelier. I generally love the eyes you do the best, but with this one, I love the way you've captured her lips. As for the lighting, it looks like you were working in indirect light, so the masses of light and dark were not as obvious. It's easier work to draw from a model you've set up with a strong light source, so I congratulate you heartily on what you've achieved here. It really shows the essence of your daughter's beauty!

Greater and greater Trochants for all your horses!

[lovin art]

Yep Nance the realism is starting to set in on my work , just not in my head sometimes ... Im for the most part a dizzy blonde , but I do like to think I have the guts to stand up for what I believe in and Working from Life is just that , it shows a hundred% in my work , and for me its getting to a point when I can tell if my heart is in the work and thats mostly from the real life in front of me ,

I am Willing to even goes as far to say I am liken to Joan of Arc crusader of Men and her beliefs she died for them , I am that same heretic for Life working, drawing /painting all of it , I just dont want to be burned at the stake for it ... but seriouly Im just that passionate about it and if its turning me into a greater artist I say bring on the Life no matter what ... Umm Alex on her white horse and her armor ~yes I say Great trochanter horses to us all

[IrwinFanDK]

Sandra, Ive been around forever, dont post ofter but I check in quite a bit to see the work people are doing. To see your progress amazes me. I love the portrait, keep it up!

[Mares Rex]

Hey, nice! Good job on identifying the range of values.

[Lauren F-M]

Sandra -- You have really captured a lot of your sweet Elle here -- Bravo! esp. Impressed that you were doing this from life!

You've already gotten a lot of good imput here. One little thing from me: am thinking that the line of her neck was probably not as straight as you have it. The delicate curve that might have been there would add a bit more -- if you caught it as is. I know that my drawing teacher was forever telling us to not draw what we THINK we see, but draw what we really ARE seeing. That's one of the reasons that we are encouraged to look at some of the shapes we see as other things they might look like (like you do with clouds). For example -- the eye socket shadow might look like a fish or bird... Drawing the shape or line that way often helps one get it more right-on.

Still -- I am mightily impressed with your growth, my dear! Leaps and bounds!

[Michaelmcg]

Hi Sandra. Some people who know what they're talking about, have found some minor nitpicks here, but all I can see is confident drawing and that always does it for me, regardless of the medium.

Michael

[lovin art]

To see your progress amazes me. I love the portrait, keep it up!

Thanks Dustin , I amaze myself sometimes ... what a feeling ! thanks for enjoying my progress, for that can only be a groovy thing !

Hey Thanks Oliver....

Dear L .... Great thoughts on this , Elle has a pretty Longish neck , but of course you could be right... I wont go back into this anymore ... its not that I dont want to , but Id rather have her in front of me when and if I did , -and then the same tilt and look of her head may not be the same .. So all learning but thankyou Humbly for seeing my growth , Im not quite sure of it yet , but I know its there ... Much like the underlying Tide that shows its self when ready thats mE!...


Hiya mICK , Im mostly confident , but never sure . ...now theres a oxymoron for you ... Im so pleased you honestly Love this .. . Lets shoot the breeze Mick and put out all the stars !

[Bongo1]

This is a very nice drawing. I like the strength of the chin and lips -- lot of character. And it's impressive how you've integrated the portrait with the surrounding curtains and light. No halo effect. I do feel like the pupil of the near side eye is looking in a different direction from that of the far side eye. But it doesn't take away from the strength of the larger drawing.

[lovin art]

Hey felix the cat ... I guess theres an old saying here , you can please some of them some of the time and none of them ~ all of the time .... Im touched at your kind words , and Im sorry you see the eye as not right, I dont , but then im just a artist struggling her way along like everyone else ~will I ever do a work of Art where someone looks and sighssss and says Arrhhh yes thats enough ~i dont know , but still I keep on tiring -its all one can do ...

[carolkay]

Well lady- your work is just growing so much. I see a confident hand here, and no less about that eye- as you said and its true, we cant please them all. I find that in my work also.
But this is a great work from life and I admire your talent and commitment.Im loving your work !Your values are superb, and your handling of the charcoal is so good.

Just home from caribbean cruise, where I went to some artists studios !Not that , it has anything to do with this.

[lovin art]

Well Carol , I think for the most part , people are afraid to admit to something they see and fall in love with it for all the obvious reasons , and my work is much like me , its full of Life and bubbly and can even be explosive and very vibrant , Iv never hid the fact , its how I am if talk to someone on here , or to a complete stranger in the street .... Im a smiley fun loving Girl type and I guess that spills over into my art ... so maybe I need to get off here and see if art is really me or is it all just Bull.... sTRONG SELF DOUBTS HERE , I know, I just keep drawing and what for I really dont know atm ...., all my best to you lady and your art always ....you have Loads of talent and drive and really you are a brilliant artist in my eyes xxx.... as are Lots on here Ive come to admire ... but there comes a time as they say in all our lives when one must make choices I guess ~ Merci !!!

[skappy]

Great job Sandra your skills are really growing DD is growing too
Robert

[WaterMike]

This is just right. I see what others are pointing out about the eyes, but I don't think you need to change that - it adds mystery.