Faces ... Faces ... Faces

One of the things I like to do when I am not making collages is draw and paint faces. Here are some that I've done recently. I hope you enjoy them.

The papers I used for the first two faces were scrap pieces left over from a gelatin plate printing session. I drew the faces first in pencil and then went over them with a black marker so that they would show up against the strong background colours. I then used coloured markers to paint the other details. I really liked the contrast between the randomly painted background and the strong black lines and was very pleased with the way they turned out.

I did the next three faces on gessoed pages of my sketchbook. The paper was quite thin and the gesso gives it some body. Once the gesso was dry, I drew the faces with a Stabilo All black pencil and then activated the pencil with a paintbrush and water. I love the effect you can create with this pencil. On the third face I added some details with coloured pencils.

I drew the last face with graphite on a heavier sheet of paper and then coloured it with my favourite colouring pencils, Prismacolor Pencils. This was so relaxing to do and I enjoyed every minute of it.