CONTE PENCIL PORTRAIT

original conte pencil/crayon 

This conte pencil/crayon portrait is completed. Really - although this medium is not nearly as easy as pencil, it is still all about value and shape. I used 3 colors in this one - Sanguine, Sepia and Black. The black was a completely different texture than the other 2 colors, so it made for an interesting experience when I was doing the black over the sanguine in the braided hair. The black is very soft compared to the chalky-ness of the sanguine and the sepia. I'm not sure what to call this one - I could just give it the name of the woman who posed for it. But that seems rather mundane. Anyone willing to suggest a title?

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!