From my drawing board this week

This is a coloured pencil drawing of my daughter which I finished, a few days ago.

I usually prefer a blue, beige or grey background so this yellow was a bit of an experiment. To me, it seems to overwhelm the subject with its boldness and the delicate shadows were lost in its midst. For someone who likes finely rendered drawings, it felt a bit too noisy for my style.

Fuzzy photo of drawing of fuzzy photo of man with fuzzy beard.

This portrait was finished, today.

It was drawn from an old, nineteenth century photograph. The quality of the photo was typical of the era - high contrast and very little detail in between - so I improvised. Luckily, the features were clear enough to allow for a good enough likeness.

As I drew this picture, I became fascinated by the wild beard and clean-shaven chin. I guess, as far as looks go, this was quite conservative 150 years ago but, to a modern, enlightened connoisseur of fashion, it must seem quite crazy and eccentric.

Apparently, nineteenth-century males eagerly awaited their first signs of facial hair. It appears that a fuzzy demeanour was irrefutable proof of one's manhood. Or, perhaps, a means of covering the scars inflicted by those lethal cut-throat razors in one's youth...

Whatever the reason, I think the beard gives this man an abundance of character. He is unsmiling but not humourless, capable but not proud, authoritative yet not arrogant. Despite his imposing facial decorations, I don't think this man seems imposing, at all. The kindly, intelligent eyes just seem a more obvious focal point when framed by a mass of grey and curly locks.