I did this small sketch the other evening - the eyes aren't right but I've worked the paper too much to keep erasing and trying again. Oh, well, practice practice practice is the key...I did this a few days ago and forgot about it because it's just not a good likeness (the original photo is from the Michael R. Britton online lessons at 
http://www.artacademy.com/
http://www.artacademy.com/ for August 2006. No, I am not that far behind, I just seem to have skipped around with the dates somehow. This tutotial was to break symbolic preconceptions in portrait drawing by using a photograph and working with the sketch while the photo was upside down so you couldn't see "the nose," "the mouth," "the eyes," etc. Well, I started that way and had a heck of a time - could not get the shape of the face right. And as you can see, I made him more attractive than he is in the photo - the upper part of the face isn't wide enough, I've made his beard and bottom lip fuller plus the eyes - the eyes just aren't right. Now, if I didn't show you the photo, you'd never know, but then it wouldn't be honest, would it? I won't ever be someone commissioned for portraits (I would hate doing that) but one needs to get the person close to looking like them! I think I've made my sketch man more attractive than the photo reference but I'm sure he wouldn't appreciate that - or would he?
We're almost finished with the "summer" session of the figure drawing sessions hosted by Manifest Gallery (http://www.manifestgallery.org/ and I'm looking forward to fall weather and the start of another session in October. I just received my October 2007 issue of The Artist's Magazine and see that Manifest Gallery has another good write-up, along along with The Fifth Street Gallery (5th and Race Streets gallery hosting the Pendleton Art Studio artists) and Dicere Gallery (http://www.diceregallery.com/).
"One's individual behavior can contribute to the making of a happier family and community." --- H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama
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