A Precious Moment
 

I have been an artist in many mediums, portraying a variety of things, and I have only recently attempted portraiture, which I have found to be the most fulfilling.

Here is one I have just done using charcoal and graphite and is drawn on standard 11" x 17" drawing paper. I found it exciting but frustrating in an attempt to capture the innocence of the child and patience of the dog.

All opinions and advice would be a tremendous help. With this being my first post, let's hope the picture attaches.

Hi, Scott,

You've been hanging on here a while and as you can see, lots of folks have had the pleasure of taking a look at your drawing.

As you

Scott,

I would have elected to use a medium other than graphite/charcoal for this subject. The light in this source does not lend much to this subject. It would be better in a color medium which utilizes flat washes of color. The fur is undefined in the source, the shadows in the child are not flattering. Pencil and charcoal are best suited to subjects which have more defined shadows and light sources. The drawing is stiff and a bit unnatural. This is possibly somewhat due to the lighting. If you are going to do photo realism, you are obligated to perfection - a hard thing to live up to.

Steven and Lon,

Thanks for the help and advice. Steven, I had forgotten about squinting, I had learned of it long ago but at the time did not have the patience to utilize it. Since you have reminded me of that it was a tremendous help in making the last drawing I did a success. I had thought I was having problems with my values and with your confirmation on that I will pay close attention to getting them straight.

Lon, what lighting would you suggest?

Scott

Well, here the light is from the top and backside of the child. Top light is poor for most media, especially drawing media. I like the light to be more direct and from the side so that the light and dark masses are well defined. Pastel will let you off with indirect light. You can flood the whole subject with color and use little shading, but shading is all you have with graphite.

Lon,

Very good points, these are things I hadn't thought of or considered. That is something I will definitely take into account in the future.

Thanks Lon,
Scott

I'm glad you have a piece with a Rottweiler in it. You were able to show just how gentle Rottweilers actually are.