It's been some time since I've updated this blog. Reason being that I have been super busy with work, and a fairly recent teaching gig. In January I began teaching an introductory illustration course at our local college. Thursday mornings from eight to noon, I teach life drawing to Digital Media Design students. A recent assignment focuses on portrait and skull studies done in a variety of mediums. Many of the students have limited experience in working with chalk pastel, so I did a quick portrait study to illustrate some technique.
This portrait is of fashion designer Marc Jacobs. I used a photo as reference and completed the piece on smooth, toned paper. There are some structural issues that I would correct if I was going to present this to a client. However, I was focusing on technique and had a deadline--had to finish it before the sitter left for the day. This is straight pastel with no pencil sketch and it took about 40 minutes to finish.
It was a lot of fun! I normally work in Photoshop. If I use traditional media, it's usually for a pencil or ink sketch which I will then finish in Photoshop. I would love to block out some time in my schedule to break out my oil paints again--hopefully soon!
Thanks for stopping by!
