This Spring I saw a few Instagram Art Challenges focused on the face. Not everyone, but many artists find drawing and painting faces quite challenging. I include myself in this group.
I decided to spend some time on the dreaded face. I signed up for an online class called Wandering Muse by Jeanne Oliver. There is a section of this class devoted to experimenting with faces. Jeanne emphasizes that these are just studies. Just play and see what happens. And so I did.
Using charcoal, stabilo pencil, ink, gesso and watercolor pencils I took Jeanne's ideas as a starting place. Some were definitely better than others. With more practice I began to actually enjoy drawing faces.
I put the more successful ones up up on the wall. Seeing them altogether added another dimension.
The last two were my personal favorites. Since they were the same size, I experimented with putting half of one face over half of the other.
I posted a few of my faces on Instagram and Facebook. The response was truly surprising. I received several Private Messages of friends telling me how much they loved them. One friend drove from Dallas to see them in my home art studio. Another friend who owns a shop on the McKinney Square asked me to bring them up to her Shop.
I sold several originals including the two large faces to the Shop Owner. She may use a couple in her clothing designs.
My friend from Dallas loved the two half faces. I took them up to a local printer who professionally photographed them to make customized prints.
My big takeaway from this experience is the energy with which I approached these faces. I was experimenting and playing rather than trying to create a masterpiece. The result was something fresh and new.