Adam & Andrea

I think it's done! I have lowered Adams bangs and defined the area on the right side of his face.

Here is a big jump from the last scan to this one. I didn't want to stop and scan! There might be some minor tweaking to do but I do believe it's almost done!

Adam's face is very angular. It makes it much easier to get shadows and placement! I will be softening them up yet. But it's coming along.


Okay, with the help of my son, (he has an excellent critical eye) I am attempting to get Andrea look a bit younger and more of a likeness....

I continue to bring 3-dimensionality and form to Andrea's face. I am going to move over and start on Adam's features as I want to build both faces tonal features as consistently as possible.


I start by creating a very light outline of the facial features of both Adam and Andrea. This is used as a guideline for placement and positioning of the features. I start with a 2B .5mm mechanical pencil and create the eyes. I use the 2B lead to shape and shade the form of her face. Using a chamois I smooth out the graphite and then lift out the highlights with a kneutgummi eraser. This eraser is much softer that the Blu-tack that I typically use. It lifts the graphite much easier and works well for this feature.

This is Adam and Andrea.

Tiger Lilly

I think this is completed! It is easy to overwork a subject like this, so I am going to stop before I lose the freshness. The background is left very rough and gives just the impression of stems and leaves.

I am working my way around the flower. I have to concentrate on making sure the pedals flow consistently and smoothly to the center of the flower. Not always easy to accomplish. I have had to make continual modifications of the white seam as well as the edges of the pedals to to keep the flow looking natural.....

I erase the white seam of each pedal with the white eraser. I then start working in the detail of each pedal using a F .5mm mechanical pencil. The subtle changes of values is important to create depth, while keeping the velvety texture. I work the background at the same time as I draw the pedal. I will be keeping the background blurred and indistinct.

It might seem odd to draw a flower in graphite. The brilliance of color to represent the subject matter is tempting. I feel flowers are an excellent subject matter to explore in graphite. The soft gentle pedals against a textured and abstracted background lends itself well to contrasting textures, light and shadows and the whole gambit of drawing exploration.

Flowers can be treated as studies, still lifes, or incorporated into landscapes. The possibilities are as endless as the varieties themselves.

To create the soft look of the pedals, I use the same technique as I use for skies. I cross-hatch the pedal using HB lead, then chamois the area smooth. I erase the over-smear to a crisp edge using a white plastic eraser.