For those reading this who don't live in Texas, these last couple weeks have been icey cold and wet. Not good conditions for painting my mural outside, which is quite frustrating since I really wanted to be done by this time. The good thing is that it has given me some time to hangout down in waco at Harts N Crafts, my wife's giftshop, and I've been able to focus more on my personal work and direction after the mural. I know I want to work on at least one other big mural this year, but in the meantime I'm developing a concept for a new art show and also in talks with a friend of mine over ideas for a cool graphic novel.
This unfinished pencil drawing (5"x7") shows the early development that my paintings develop out of. You can see that a heavy emphasis that I put on the eyes. In them, you catch about 80% of a persons likeness, character and vitality, or "life". I establish the directional planes of the face through parallel lines, and add depth through hatching and blending. It's a good idea to determine early on where the sides, top and bottom of the head will be placed to keep the over all image in perspective. Then add in the rest of the features and establish the larger overall shadows, while keeping in mind always the direction that the light is falling across the three-dimensional surface.
Check back soon to see how it develops.