I have been busy with our whole dying refrigerator experience the past week, and now that the new double door stainless steel gleaming machine is installed and the food is back being safely chilled. Oh, and I once more have ice for my summer beverages.
But I had been enjoying a little book of contemporary drawing and sketching called Freehand: Sketching Tips and Tricks Drawn from Art, by Helen Birch. I checked it out from our excellent local library, but I find myself referring back to it over and over for the engaging illustrations, and then looking up on the featured artists. It made me itch to try out some new ways of working.
That's what made me try an entirely different style in this portrait of Jutta Richter. I am filling up a cheap paper sketchbook with tan toned paper for my most recent portraits, so I experimented with drawing outlines with a Micron ink pen, and also doing some simple textures with the pen. Then I limited myself to white, red and blue colored pencils, dispensing with any shading at all. This drawing was all about design and flat areas f color. I hesitated making her face white, but it provided the contrast I wanted.
The background is greatly simplified. I added just enough to suggest the outdoor rural winter scene, and I brought dark areas up to contrast with her white skin. Looking at the results now, it occurs to me that the shapes are simple enough that I could try a portrait using collage - but that will have to wait until later.
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