Portrait of a lady

(C) 2015 Dale DiMauro

As I continue to recover from my broken forearm, most days I draw the face of someone on a magazine or alumni cover. I even have a folder with photographs of people that I cut out from magazines and journals etc, of all ages, ethnicities and genders. In this I include photographs of family members. I look for people with strong characteristics such as unusual expressions, postures, facial markings etc. This way I can utilize a source for a subject and keep improving, even when time is limited.

I prefer drawing and painting an individual with a three quarter view. This gives more facial dimension and I can exaggerate it through the light source and shading. I often do these while watching television and talking to my wife. John Singer Sargent drew live model 'heads' and called these 'mug' shots and he created over five hundred of them! I draw these with an HB pencil or softer lead such as a B or 2B. I prefer drawing paper(80lb) over sketch (60lb) as it is heavier and more durable. I also utilize several sketchbooks of different sizes to force me to be versatile at different scales and levels of detail.

Before long I intend on drawing and painting my own self-portrait and perhaps entering it in one of the many portrait competitions. You too should try to draw a face. Why not. You learn a lot about yourself. I look back at drawings and can detect areas that are not quite correct or conversely areas where I have improved greatly!