The Head in Crayon

Head in Crayon - Section 20
4 December 2012
Conté Crayon on Paper
32cm x 41cm (12.5" x 16")

This isn’t a belated Halloween post and no, I am not recruiting the undead to pose for drawings.

This is my latest attempt at the Head in Crayon exercise from the Natural Way to Draw. The exercise uses the same tools and modelling techniques as the sustained study in crayon (see Sustained Study in Crayon and Try and Try Again), but does not include the preliminary gesture and contour studies.

The objective is to model the complexities of the human face, which is a challenge because you only have an hour. I focus on trying to create the impression of a three dimensional object and don’t bother too much about the accurate measurement and alignment of the features – which is my excuse for why the eyes are too close together.

I have a bit of a mental block about modelling with the white crayon, so I’ve struck a deal (with myself) that allows me to minimise the amount of white crayon in the sustained studies as long as I use it extensively in the head in crayon studies.

Christmas Cards 2012

Wendy Hedges has made Christmas cards from some of my paintings. They look stunning and really demonstrate how the right mount and frame can complete a picture. Thanks Wendy.