Portraits are always interesting, it not only requires the skill of making an accurate representation or depiction of a person or subject matter. Portraits are also about capturing the essence of a person. Its an amazing feeling when you can create an image of a person and others are able to see, and feel the uniqueness of that person.
When I was back in high school, my art teacher was the first person to push me to do a self-portrait. He started by making my class do 21 exercises in which we had to draw the parts of our face, as well as alternating views such as a front, side, and three-quarter view. By the time we completed each of the sketches, I learned how to capture the details and features that make up my portrait. Although portraits are not always perfect, its fascinating to make them using different styles, techniques and mediums.
A sketch of me, done in charcoal
A sketch of me, done in oil paint
All three portraits were done in different mediums, charcoal, pencil, and paint. The pencil and painting pieces were my most recent portraits, while the charcoal piece was created back in my sophomore year of college. I would say pencil sketches are the easiest because I can easily erase and adjust as needed, the other two were done with materials that leave less room for error. The painting was of course my most rigorous, I sat 13 hours straight looking into a mirror and trying to recreate my face on my canvas. I think I somehow even managed to capture how tired I felt.
