WC Portrait Swap

I have finally made a start on my portrait for the portrait swap. I am not ready to share what I have yet but I have made a good start. I have the eyes done. I am making a detailed drawing and then will transfer the outline onto better paper. I am using a grid for this one as I was having trouble with her eyes.

I haven't used a grid since June of 2006 but this portrait called for it. I wanted to be sure to get all the parts where they belong. I don't like using a grid. I found it very useful when I started doing portraits, but now that I can draw from life, I would prefer to wing it. Sometimes my portraits turn out a little wonky like the Elvis one but I prefer to learn by doing. But this lady is a new acquaintance and I would like to give her a nice portrait. Besides this needs to be finished and mailed toward the end of the month.

This portrait will be in graphite and if I finish early, I might try another done with the Derwent Drawing Pencils in 3 colors. It will just depend on my time. She has already done two paintings of me.

I finally got photos of the dog for my commission. It is a Christmas present so I want to get a start on that one as soon as possible. It is also graphite also.

Hopefully I will have something to show tomorrow. I want to get most of her face finished on the sketch and get busy with the better paper. I am thinking about using some Bristol board that I purchased from Dick Blick. So far I haven't used it. I usually use Bristol Smooth Paper. I just hope the board is as forgiving when I use an eraser.