Facing the Devil

When I draw my faces, I usually post my progress to facebook, and have people guess who they might be. I recently drew John Oats of Hall and Oats where one guess was Al Pacino. Well the similarity was only with the goatee, but nevertheless, I added Pacino to my growing list of faces to draw. 

Before working on Pacino, I practiced a little more with proportions, and symmetry; particularly with the eyes. My drawing Anatomy book is great, but like a cook book, it makes it look so easy. Getting the face angle, the eyes looking the same way and looking in the same direction is very difficult. Replicating a twinkle in an eye, a dimple in a cheek, or a smirk that all form an expression is even more difficult. 

I was recently introduced to a famous portrait artist by a friend of mine who loves portraits. As much as I admired Lucien Freud, I really thought the artist himself had a very interesting face, so he is now on my list! To paint faces and capture real expressions like Freud did is a dream! 

Aspirations are important. Recently, I watched a youtube tutorial on drawing faces where the artists recommended practicing the features first and if you are a beginner, don’t start with faces. A small part of me deflated because I always try to run before I can walk. Practicing and learning along the way I believe is the only way. I practice features on their own and then build the face. I then refer to my Drawing Anatomy book which as a couple of methods on drawing faces. 

Sure I fall down a lot like I did with drawing Diana Rigg. We have to fail to learn. And I don’t even like the term “fail”. I see those not so good pieces as part of the journey. My work on John Oats led me to Pacino because of one guess. 

It just so happens that one of my favorite movies is “The Devil’s Advocate”... Al Pacino plays the character of the Devil, John Milton. Haha! Miracles of miracles, it just so happened that the Devil’s Advocate was on TV when I started drawing Al Pacino! After many times of watching that movie, I realized that the Pacino’s character’s name was John Milton, the poet who wrote “Paradise Lost” which of course is about the fall of man and the fallen angel Lucifer. The character John Milton is suave, sexy, and sophisticated who refers to God as an “Absentee Landlord”. I couldn’t agree more. I like the old devil.

I always think while I am watching John Milton, that if am going to worship anyone, I am going to worship someone who is sexy, gives me a lavish lifestyle, likes Frank Sinatra, and drinks good wine! What on Earth is evil about that? It’s his time, baby! 

Unlike God, the Devil aspires to create happiness where as God demands we suffer! The devil aspires too as explained in this line from the movie. 

 “ John Milton: Why not? I'm here on the ground with my nose in it since the whole thing began. I've nurtured every sensation man's been inspired to have. I cared about what he wanted and I never judged him. Why? Because I never rejected him. In spite of all his imperfections, I'm a fan of man! I'm a humanist. Maybe the last humanist.” 

Well I know I am a humanist so, maybe that’s why I am attracted to the Devil aka as John Milton played by Al Pacino.

Seriously, I am an atheist so I believe in neither Satan nor God, but I do believe that practice makes perfect with drawing. And after all, the devil does not judge and accepts human flaws!

Al Pacino - Graphite pencils 

My photo Reference. 

Sources: 

Dirty Rotten Tomatoes - Devil’s Advocate Quotes

Wiki has an excellent entry on the movie too. 

Wiki Entry on The Devil’s Advocate

 

Covid Dreams

One of the great things I am discovering with drawing is that it is providing another outlet to express my fears and anxiety. While anxiety manifests itself differently in people, mine usually results in insomnia, and then vivid dreams leaving me anxious until I get into starting the day. Since the start of the pandemic, my recurring dream is finding myself in a crowd of unmasked people not being able to find my way home, or find Ken. 

Another dream is that I am returning to work where none of the covid precautions in place are being followed. Nobody is wearing a mask. I am speechless and angry in the dream. I wake up relieved. I don’t see myself as overly neurotic, but I guess we internalize a lot of stress that we aren’t always aware of. I can be mildly amused by some of the craziness in dreams, but not the one I am about to recall.

This dream is far from amusing, and was the most intense yet. I am in another country (it’s not clear where possibly the UK) trying to get home back to my husband. I wake up in dormitory-style accommodation.  I quickly realize that I am in a hospital ward. Some people are laying in bed wearing metal masks, and what seems like long tubes out of them. The people look terrified. I try to comfort one of them; a youngish woman. A nurse instructs me to leave her alone, and to stay away. I ask her what the fuck is going on, and why am I near these people if they have covid... The nurse in a light green uniform tells me I have to stay inside. I said, it is better that we are outside in fresh air away from these people. I tell her to let me the fuck out, but somehow I leave desperately trying to reach one of my brothers to pick me up... 

I awake. All I see in my mind’s eye are the metal masks and tubes. I still feel a frantic urgency to get out. I get up, shower and head out for a much needed run which dispels my waking anxiousness. Few people are around. I pull down my mask, and breathe. 

“Covid Nightmare” charcoal. I drew the eyes staring, big and wide - expressing fear. The lone tear is the pressing want for this to end - she wants to live again. The hair disheveled, long and unkept kind of like the leadership we have had through this. The tube leads to nowhere as we don’t know when this nightmare will end. The jet black mask is nothingness. Death. 

Amazing Faces

My continuing journey of drawing has led me down a path of trying to draw portraits. Something that I never would have dreamed of attempting (I was probably right!). However, anything can only get better with practice, right? 

Faces are fascinating, but challenging to draw for a beginner like myself. The instructions in books make it look easy. It feels impossible to replicate that twinkle in an eye or smirk right now. But that will come with practice, and learning from the masters. This old dog her will learn. new tricks. 

At least while I attempt to capture my subject’s twinkle, gaze, or smirk, I get to examine the faces of whom I admire for so much longer, and I learn more about them. 

 I was sadden by the recent passing of Diana Rigg, which inspired me to try to draw her. I sure hope my subjects are very understanding. Especially, Dame Diana Rigg.  

I imagined Dame Rigg growling at me from over my shoulder saying, “not another wrinkle”, and “my nose is not the long, for heaven’s sake!” I do hope she’d be forgiving for a beginner! 

Diana Rigg was incredibly famous as Emma Peel in, “The Avengers” which I vaguely remember as a child. Emma was badass. She knew martial arts and could get herself out of trouble without depending on a man. She was a perfect role model for women and girls at that time. 

Fast forward, 50 years later. I was mesmerized more recently by her performance as Lady Olenna Tyrell in Game of Thrones. She had some brilliant lines and dished them out well. My favorite being in her last scene where she tells Jamie Lannister that, “Tell Cersie. I want her to know that I did it...” Did what? Sorry, no spoilers here. Watch the show! Interestingly, watching the show, was something that Rigg never did even after her appearance. 

The best story I heard regarding her “audition” for the part of Olenna Tyrell was when she told Benioff, “Dames don’t audition for you; you audition for them’” They loved her on the show, and so did we.

All in all, I focussed on the eyes, but still could not quite capture that tinkle in her eyes. However, I feel happy with the shape although I am a little disappointed with the facial proportions. Back to drawing board with that. Onward and upward to continue my journey with amazing faces. 

My photo reference.

Game of Throne fan: Links to some clips, one liners, and other trivia. Avenger fans, more when I draw Emma Peel!

Diana Rigg - Game of Thrones

Book - Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon

“He really was a cunt; wasn’t he?!”

The Look of Covid

Well this is how a quick and dirty sketch panned out today. She’s kind of a sorry disheveled looking gal, and after I finished her, I wondered if she was me. She was not meant to be. Just a quick warm up practice for eyes, and hair. When I decided she looked like how I felt, I added her tear. 

I see her has having just woken up from a night of sporadic sleep where waking hours were spent worrying about the state of affairs, as well as shards of metal from the past that still dig deep. She buried them long ago, but they still cause pangs every now and then. 

She gets up and looks in the mirror, and this is what she sees. Her short trim hair is now an unholy mess in need of a cut. Her age is showing.  When did she last put make up on? Ah yes, that was it. It was for a zoom call with friends. She doesn’t bother anymore. 

She’s been out of a job for nine months now, not seen any family, or friends, and her life is confined to Zoom calls for work, and socializing. She knows she is not alone, but that doesn’t help the anxiety caused through uncertainty. 

What seemed like a shut down for a couple of weeks has turned into months with no end in sight. Her friends know they won’t be heading home for Thanksgiving, or Christmas. It was all suppose to be over by then. 

She pursues interests, explores new ones, and escapes to happy places, but is overall anxious about the future.  She is generally happy, but not today. 

The weather is glorious, but she is tired. The endless stream of political turmoil across both sides of the Atlantic weigh heavy on her. She has family and friends on both sides of the pond. Whatever the future holds, she sees no way to plan for it except be cautious. That isn’t her nature. 

This woman explores the world with eyes wide open, but they’ve been shut for her. A world led by arrogant, and ignorant politicians, denying the science of Covid, and its severity, climate change, and strife see to it that she is remaining in place.  

She awakes in dark hours with a sense of foreboding. Trapped by insomnia, her mind escapes hurtling along a highway to nowhere at a zillion miles per hour. The only destination is morning, and a sense of despair. Despair for the future, and not just hers. 

This is Adrenoverse — Today. 

Issy’s Rose

At first, I was merely practicing my drawings and following a tutorial on how to draw a rose. This one is of my second attempt. 

I posted my efforts as usual to facebook and instagram. Outside of all the comments I received, the one from my niece stood out the most; “My mum’s favorite flower”... It stopped me in my tracks.

How could I forget? Sadly my sister died at the tender age of forty one. Like my mum, she loved to garden. She adored gardening and was good at it. She had the best front garden on her street. Always. 

Once she even dug out a pond, in the back garden, and got two ducks, Tululah and Gemima. She loved animals. She also had a penchant for penguins, so whenever I see penguins, I always think of her. I had forgotten how much she loved roses though, so I was thankful for her daughter’s (my niece) reminder. Now I will always think of her whenever I see a rose. That is a big thing for me. I love roses more than ever, because I see one more thing in them — my sister, Issy. 

This is for you, Issy. Rest easy, and thanks for the love and memories. 

Drawing Boards...

This drawing wood exercise was probably the most laborious I have done, but the results are pretty amazing using the techniques from Leonardo Pereznieto’s book, “Simple techniques for realistic drawings.”  I have so many wood projects, so I was keen to do this tutorial in the book. I have plenty of photo references from all of the world; drift wood on a South African Beach, old wooden doorways off old churches, and tiny medieval doors in Spanish, and French villages. 

I didn’t have quite the same tools as recommended in the book. The photo below was using a charcoal 2B pencil which is a little softer than the HB pencil Leonardo used. My background was also a graphite background using my 4B softer graphite stick. 

Again, I have a new set of eyes that will allow me to see wood more clearly. I love the almost poetic way Pereznieto describes wood grains, “To help you visualize the grain lines of wood while drawing them, imagine the waves of a liquid. They flow in a similar way and envelop any object...” And it is so true! Next time, watch how water flows over rocks, in a babbling brook. And then follow the line grains on your wooden floor boards. 

My first attempt at drawing wood for real. If you look closely, It’s simply tiny vertical lines close to one another. I look forward to my future projects. 

Meanwhile, check out this flooring! The knots are interesting although my grain work needs practice. The bit that blew me away is where the boards meet. Just a rounding the edges and a highlight made all the difference. 

The next photo is a close-up of my boards. I got pretty lazy by the time I got to the bottom of each board! The far left plank I left as one long plank since that was the best grain. Being left handed, I had to start from the far right board, and work across to the left. 

Next stop, is to get the paper and charcoal pencil that the artist suggests for the other projects. And I may repeat this exercise to refine my grains. For wood and On woods! Sorry, but you should know by now that I love word play. 

A Lot of Bottle

When the experts say to get certain materials, invest in them. I am so glad that I finally forked out  $25 for the packet of graphite powder. It is water soluble so I can now paint with it. I haven’t got around to gently breaking that to my other half yet, so have not tried it. I’ve already have had to explain away the mysterious dark marks across the floor after he tried to use a clean small towel that I repurposed for toning paper with the powder. I guiltily blamed my weights who had nothing to do with it. I digress. Once I got the hand of using the dry powder to tone my paper for a graphite drawing, I found the difference was striking! No lines or scratches. Just a smooth even grey background. What a difference..! My drawings of glass will especially look better. 

When drawing glass, it is less about the object and more about, light sources, highlights, and shadowing. I had the perfect subject which was my Vintage Absolutely Pure Milk bottle. I used the same techniques I learned for my crystal ball sketches. The proportions are a little off, but I felt happy with the cast shadow and highlights. The embossed lettering is okay, but I need to work on lettering on curved surfaces. Speaking of Milk, drawing my bottle invoked so many memories of getting milk delivered by the milkman and of school. 

The murmur of the milk float signaled the start of the day for most of my life in the UK where I grew up and lived for 36 years. If I close my eyes, I can still hear the opening of the gate, footsteps up the path and the clinking and clanging of glass on the front door step as clean empty bottles were replaced with bottles of milk. In the summer, it was a rush to get the bottles in the fridge before the milk curdled. And in the winter when the grounds were frozen, the rush was to get to the bottles before the birds could peck out the foil tops for a drink, and or, before the milk froze. While milk delivery invokes memories of nostalgia, they also raise bitter feelings that leave a nasty taste in my mouth of being made to drink milk out of the tiny bottles at Primary school. (elementary school in the USA). 

I hated milk unless it was freezing cold or had chocolate in it. I could bear a little bit on my cereal or porridge. During the summer, the milk would be outside the school class rooms long before us kids arrived. During the warmer months, by the time we got to drink the milk, it would be warm and sometimes even off. Most of the kids would drink it anyway, but my stomach would churn, and I would almost dry heave at the smell. If I was quick enough, I could pour strategically position myself near the classroom sink and pour it down the drain before the teacher could spot me. Unfortunately, she spotted me once and thereinafter, she would watch me drink it. To this day, I cannot and will not drink milk straight. Not even out of the fridge. I swear some teachers go into the profession to torture kids; except for art teachers of course... 

Vintage Absolutely Pure Milk Bottle in Graphite