Lately I’ve moved away from standard acrylic, oil, and ink paintings.
…and into pencils, charcoal, and graphite.
Away from trees, dark towers, and spooky cityscapes.
…and into beautiful women.
And so, Painting with Darkness Part 14 is all about a little (actually it’s huge) graphite canvas I’m calling Mother of Midnight.
Here’s a few progression shots:
Just her face…
NSFW? Not quite…
Adding some clothes. Sort of. And no, that’s not an afro. It’s a hood.
Shadowing coming along. Needs face work, background, and texturing.
Almost done. Working with graphite is fun. I went a little nuts with the swirls.
Before final touch ups and eye shading…
Just her face.
And here’s the final painting:
If I learned one thing during this piece, it’s that graphite is super hard to photograph. It’s highly reflective, meaning any backlight at all bounces into the camera lens, which tends to wash the photo out.
The actual canvas (24″ x 48″) is extremely detailed, which some of these pics might not reveal.
Live and learn.
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If you like this Painting with Darkness entry, check out the other thirteen: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII. XIII.
To dive into the series that inspired this piece, click this.
Until next time…