This summer, I took Jane
Gallen's drawing class at the
Multnomah Arts Center. We worked in charcoal to get value changes and used table
easels. Both offered new challenges in my quest to learn how to draw. I see this work as a basis for painting, adding depth and interest with values and contrasts.
For two sessions, Penny modeled for us and we practiced drawing portraits.
I like her expression in the one above.
Hopefully, with more
practice, I'll get a better likeness with my portraits. That's part of the fun and the challenge. Jane is an excellent teacher and I'm thinking of taking her course again fall term.
One of my goals is to learn how to draw faces and portraits. It's a challenge to get proportions correct and placement of facial features. Ever since I took a two day workshop from Anne Bagby in 2004, I've collected photos of faces and practice drawing them occasionally.
When we sketch at coffee houses in the winter, I bring my little box of faces and practice drawing them. To see how my drawing compares to the original photo, I scan each into Photo Shop and over lay them to scale. The drawing is on the bottom and the photo on top with an opacity of 50%. 
Now I can observe both layers to see how they relate to one another.
This tells me I have to work on the placement and spacing of the eyes and mouths. With practice, these drawing will become more accurate.
