Random Bits Of Fluff

From the sketchbook
(click image to enlarge)


I haven't been doing a lot of drawing from life, but I feel like I could use a "back to basics" refresher lately, so I sat down in front of my mirror for a 20-minute quickie. I dislike how I always end up looking so serious in self portraits because I'm concentrating so hard. It is easier to keep my face in one position that way, but maybe I should try a series of self portraits where I make funny faces at myself.

I always use a mirror for self portraits, photos are already in 2-d so it feels like cheating, but it means my face is always flopped. The freckle under my right eye should be on *your* left as I am facing you, but I'm not so talented as to be able to draw myself flipped. It makes me wonder how the old great artists did it, are all those famous self portraits backwards?

My best friend made a funny comment after a sketch I did of her a while back, about how she only knows what she looks like when I draw her (I used to average about 5 portraits of her a week when we were younger). That her mental image of herself is through my art is rather flattering. It has been years since I did a drawing of myself and it's funny, I think I had forgotten what I looked like too.

Anyway, I needed the reminder that I hadn't forgotten how to draw real things, so hopefully I am not doing too badly and people will recognize it as me!