Saturday, July 16, 2011

Conte Crayon Portrait

Headdress
11" x 14" conte crayon/pencil





















I have just finished this beautiful portrait of a lovely young woman from Africa, with her traditional headdress on. I did this portrait in conte crayon and pencil because I wanted to practice with this medium, as I am enrolled in Susan Lyon's workshop in September, and she works with this medium. It is not the easiest to work with, but I am pleased with the results. It really is all about value - although it is difficult to get some areas as dark as I would like, working only in the one color. This is Sanguine, and I love how warm and glowing it appears! I think I'll need to do a few more practice pieces before I feel prepared to be in this small class with such an amazing portraiture teacher!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Awesome job!!!

Unknown said...

Thank you, dear Paz! How are you doing? Is New York hot in July? Are you working or on vacation? So much to catch up on!!! Thank you for visiting me here, and for your special words of encouragement. ((hug))

Unknown said...

This, and all your drawings, are wonderful. I work in oil, and can only sit back in admiration of your skills... amazing!

Unknown said...

Hi Laura!
Thank you for your really kind encouragement! I appreciate how difficult oils can be! I have done maybe 3 paintings in oil, but have it as a "to conquer" on my list of goals. :-) I'm off to visit your blog now. Have a wonderful summer - hope you get LOTS of time to paint.

Shelley Whiting said...

A beautiful and lively portrait. Impressive and sutnning.

Unknown said...

Thanks Shelley! This portrait was lots of fun to do!