I've recently started taking a portrait drawing class at Seattle Central Community College. Except for the fact that I had a terrible time finding the room the first night (who knew that the art building was on the other side of the street from the rest of the college?) I've been really enjoying it. Drawing portraits from a model is a vastly different experience from drawing from a photo or even a self-portrait in a mirror. There is real geometry when the head is right there in front of you that just doesn't show up when you're working from a 2-dimensional image.
The first drawing is from an exercise we did in class with a model named Stanley, who did an admirable job of holding the same expression for two solid hours. The second one is a self-portrait I did in front of my bathroom mirror where, true to form, I have captured an expression that makes it look like I'm thinking about destroying something small and cute. Someday I'll learn how to smile and draw at the same time. I also realize that the eyes are wildly mis-placed, but I decided to post the drawing anyway. That's the sort of painfully honest approach that we here at Revenge of the Pencil Enterprises have always pursued despite the protestations of friends, family, and legal counsel.
