Here is the final version. The reason I chose this picture is so that I could try to draw a clothed figure, and the dress and sweater turned out pretty well, as well as the boxes and door. The issues I have are with the face. I spent probably half the time trying to get it to look like her. It's amazing how small the margin of error is on the face, especially on the eyes and the mouth. I could make a change of less than a millimeter on the mouth line and it would totally change the expression. So it was pretty much just making a change and seeing how it turned out, and repeating that over and over. I still don't think it really looks accurate, though it's close. Another problem was that the shading in the original picture is pretty flat, so it makes it more difficult.It brings up the question of whether realistic drawing is relevant in light of photography. I'll probably get some flak for this, but I think realistic portraiture at least has lost it's place. It's just too hard to get it really accurate, when the camera can do it so quickly. It makes me wonder if the Mona Lisa or other famous portraits really look like the people they portray. :) However perhaps the portrait doesn't have to look exactly accurate as long as it is a good drawing and it has areas of interest. I think that this drawing has interest because of the clothing and the surrounding areas, so it was not a wasted effort.
2 comments:
It was great fun visiting the Legion of Honor in SF with you and AR this past weekend. I thought of something as I was reading this particular entry.
Most people appreciate art because of how it makes us feel. I like something usually because it conjures up some emotions from me. I don’t pay a whole lot of attention to details. Yet, you were looking very closely at each detail – the shadow on a button or collar, the line on a face, etc. It occurs to me that when I look at a painting, I only see the “big picture” and not realize that the “big picture” is the sum of many small details. I am glad you pointed those things out to us.
pq
No, you make a good point. I guess I'm very focused on technique these days because that is what we are learning and struggling with in class. But of course technique should never take precedence over the true purpose of the work. In fact, history has been very unkind to technically brilliant works that lack "soul". Interestingly, some might put "Broken Pitcher" into that category, along with many of Sargent's works. Anyways, thanks for reading. I think you are one of my two dedicated readers. :)
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