My favorite portrait event
 

Every year I am invited (hired) to draw at the all night graduation parties at several high schools. I draw in pencil. I have a waiting list made up for seven minute intervals. It is filled up for the night in twenty minutes. Then, I draw non-stop almost for five hours the most beautiful kids in the world. I draw with chiseled point, shaded sketches in full detail. They are not hurried, just economically drawn. No erasing. Each line is final. Each line is expressive. It is magic. I learn something every year, and each year I come away a better artist. There is nothing like it. I love it. It is what I wish I could do all year. The drawings get better the more tired I get, because I draw more sub-consciously and more spontaneously. The style emerges a little more defined each year.

This is an exercise I highly recommend.

Do you have a similar experience that is your defining moment?

Hi Lon -

What fun! Isn't drawing from life a rush?

I did two summers as a 20-something, doing profiles in chalk at Busch Gardens from life. Better pay than a regular summer job, plus it improved the art skills and gave me confidence that I could sell my work.
I understand a fair number of portrait artists started this way.

I get a similar experience now every year for a Christmas event - 2 solid days of drawing portraits in charcoal.