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arallsopp — Light of the world II
Published: 2007-12-04 00:27:44 +0000 UTC; Views: 1423; Favourites: 18; Downloads: 38
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Morning all.Been exploring some new ideas for a more visitor friendly record of Evey's pregnancy. As we managed to break the only light that's strong enough to register in the camera on the weekend, this is actually based on a photo from October. (reference here )
Graphite pencils*, on paper, under GU10 halogens.
*Yes. I know... Its not a painting. And to think that I said I'd be trying to diversify... In my defence, work and home have been keeping me busy and its all I can do to keep my hand in
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Comments: 54
Hey! Thanks for looking in on me
I was very lucky with this one. Having had no time to draw in the day for a long while, I was forced to start drawing at night. I wanted to record the result immediately, and photographed it under the lamp at home. I was planning to correct the white balance in Photoshop, as I knew my camera would read the halogens as orange. As it happened, the result was this lovely warmth across the page, and so I'm forced to attribute this one 50% me, 50% Konica Minolta.
Sometimes the tech just knows what we want.
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i love accidents that work out! ive had a few myself. i like the art itself but just love it with the color
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I love this pic, such pic is something I always try to do, but never succeed : P
colors are good, it looks realistic and the shading is awesome(for me the hardest part)
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Thanks for this.
Its always good to hear that someone likes my work.
You may find shading hard, but looking at your empty eye piece, it doesn't seem to stop you getting a great result. You've achieved a very sculptural feel, that reminds me a lot of Michelangelo's marbles.
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That's a wonderful drawing Andy! 
The only critique I have is that when you compare the drawing and the reference photo - you'll notice that Evey looks a lot younger in the photo than in your drawing. I mean her face. It's something I have to fight with myself ... finding the thin red line of how much lines to add and how to "weigh" them.
But otherwise a great drawing!!!
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Hey friend.
I couldn't agree more with your point on the age. It was odd. For three quarters of the drawing she was looking almost childlike, with just a little line for and lips, but towards the end the simplistic treatment started to be overpowered by the rest of the piece. I worked over the area a little, and realising I was ageing her, stopped myself a little short of where I'd have finished it.
I think you're right about it being to do with weighting more than anything else. The beauty of having a reference photo is that I will hopefully be able to revisit this piece when I'm a little better at judging these things. For now, onwards and upwards. I've got a set of charcoals here, and a nice new pad to play with.
Thanks for your feedback, advice and the favourite
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Hey Andy! You're welcome!
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Of course I'm not offended
Everyone wants to get better at things, and its advice like yours that makes it possible
Thanks for helping.
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Glad you see it that way!
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Thanks Josh.
I finished this one in the middle of the night and took this photograph of the piece under fairly weak lighting. Not the the light is much better in the day here at the moment
The halogen downlighters seem to add quite a nice warmth to the page, so I've not corrected it. Although there's a lot of noise in the image as recorded, I liked the colours enough to let things stand
In trade for your kind comment here, I'll offer you a tip that I forgot to mention in our earlier conversation .
If you need to take a picture in low light without a tripod (or with a big zoom), you may find you're inadvertently moving the camera through the action of pushing the shutter release button. This is really annoying, because most people can hold the camera steady enough to keep things tight, right up until the very millisecond that it matters.
Have a look around your camera for a delayed exposure / self timer mode. Its designed so that you can set up the camera, push the button, run around and get in the shot before it takes, but you can also use it to get round this problem. By setting the timer to 2 secs or more, you can separate the actions of pushing the button and releasing the shutter by enough time to allow you to re-steady things.
I used a 2 second delay to get this shot, and you can see that things are still pretty tight. Without it, I'd have had to walk the work out into the garden and take the picture in daylight. Waiting for a dry day in England can take a while, and chances are I wouldn't have been able to post this until next year...
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Ok, self timer mode, I got it, thanks so much!!!
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I think it looks beautiful. Great lighting, (despite breakage, lol) and the tones bring out her face very well. But I have to ask, why the certain cropping? It cuts off her stomach right when it draws your attention to her being pregnant. Because of this it looks to me as it's just part of the gesture of the curvature. (If that makes sense. In my mind it does but I'm under the weather and it could be coming out as blah, blah, blah).
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LOL! Thanks for your comments and appreciation. I totally understand your point regards the cropping too. With her arms flung back like that, she could just be arching her back rather than showing off a swelling stomach. To be honest, this was more the decision of the paper than my specific composition. You see, I was heading off merrily down the page, and suddenly I hit the edge. No idea how big my brain thought the paper was going to be, but there was certainly going to be a good few inches beneath this.
That'll teach me not to rough things in first
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Oh, we have all been there. I usually manage to cut my drawing a couple inches short. And then I have to make sure they fit on the canner which is a whole other story, lol.
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LOL. In light of this experience, I actually popped down to my friendly local art store and bought a bigger art pad.
To date, everything posted has been coming out of the same A4 sketch pad which is slightly narrower and longer than your US Standard Letter size.
Next size up over here is A3, which is around 42 by 29.7cms, so look out for some larger pieces coming up
I don't have to worry about the scanner, because my HP C4100 sees all pencil lines as bewildering edge enhanced mirrors. This forces me to use a digital camera for each and every deviation, but at least its one less worry for sizing
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Ah, I have just been using a 9x12 sketch book. Forcing myself to consider some elements of composistion. Working a fair bit now. Been on a little Disney kick recently. It happens when I'm sick. And I have SO MUCH actual homework. I should get to that...
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That 9x12 is probably a very good discipline. I tend to ignore composition when sketching, but I think this is something I'm going to have to start looking at if I want to develop. I never really count any of my pieces as composed if there's no background, so that knocks out all my pencil and paint pieces immediately
Good luck clearing your homework, and looking forward to seeing some of your new pieces.
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Thanks Micah.
This uses a common lighting with my earlier biro sketch , which effectively became Light of the World I. The explanation for the title (which is all about the lighting) is given here .
Hey. Why no deviations from you in so long? Pastels got you down?
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I'm still working but I can't post anything yet. My sister did a widow display of my pastels and pencil portraits and got me a few Christmas orders. Unfortunately every customer has refused me permission to post the portraits on this site. I guess they are afraid their family might see it somehow and spoil the surprise on Christmas morning. I just checked my email and got a thumbs up from one customer though. As soon as I finish the piece I'm working on I'll be starting a pastel that I can post.
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Its great to hear you're gathering commissions. I've only ever done one, and I ended up giving it away 
Looking forward to seeing the next piece up. Do you think you'll be able to post the other portraits after the 25th?
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I hope so but I know some people get scared when you say you want to put their face on the internet. I'll just have to wait and see. I have given every the address to this place to my customers - hopefully they will check it out. If not, I'll work on my own things after the 25th so I'll be able to post those.
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Yep. I know that one. It only gets worse when you find yourself saying, "Erm, yeah. Is it OK if I post that nude?"
Not a day goes by when I'm not grateful to have such an understanding wife
My only fear is she'll ask me to return the favour one day
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Thanks aripunk. I'm guessing you know the pressures of trying to do your loved one justice, so its good to have your approval
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Bino
I love this one as well, you are so good at capturing light, it mirrors how I felt here, more relaxed at being clothed, and serine and relaxed.
Thre is a lot going on in your head at this stage in life, and I am glad you could capture it so truly, you really know me huh
Love you xxx
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Lo darlin.
Am glad you like this. You really are the most wonderful girl in the world. Am planning to drop into the art shop some point this week to grab some paper for a charcoal piece. Time to mess up the carpet a little, I feel
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excellent. I love your charcoal work, you should photograph the nude bloke in a ball, and put on here
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I've been deliberating over this, because its a bit old and it seemed more fun to create some new pieces. Also, the darn frame is still broken so it'd be hard to get a good picture. Ah well.... why draw him, when I can draw you?
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Hi EdBunny,
We are all doing very well thanks loads for asking
The pregnancy is going brilliantly, i am finally down to 4 days at work, as the commute is a bit of a strain!
Andy is more relaxed at work now and we have some time to enjoy the calm before christmas
I love your drawings of Yohan by the way, nicely done, I like to see the progression too.
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That's wonderful!! Hmmm, I can imagine the commuter being a strain, no matter the situation. I hate buses as it is 
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ahh.. that locks wonderfull, i espechelly like the fabrick and the shadows coming frome her head and froote. bigg upp four this one
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Thanks Henrik.
I'm not so good with subtle shades, so had been playing around with the light to try to cast strong shadows. I'm glad you feel it paid off.
Hey! I just caught a glimpse of your new Zach Braff drawing . It's looking great. Very impressive.
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I love it! Her body looks so beautifull and feminal. I adore the warmth and the calmth on her face.
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Thanks for this, and congrats on your 5000 hits
Its odd. I'd meant this to be a drawing of her belly as it swells with our son, but somehow got caught up in her face. I'm really pleased with the nearest eye, as the shapes are so unlikely that I didn't think it was going to pull together. It took all my will not to draw what I was sure should be there, and once I'd got the face down the belly got barely more than a couple of lines.
Must try harder
I'm glad to see your inspiration is returning.
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Thanks alot, you're so friendly!
I guess the belly needs to be more detailed, yes, and the rest of her body less. It needs to be subtile, though, otherwise it looks unnatural and weird. Good luck on practicing that!
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LOL. Its not like any ever says, "You know your problem??? Too many good friends...".
"Enjoy. Be enjoyed." That's my motto
You're entirely right about the subtlety too. I don't think its a skill I've got down yet, so I'm going to leave this version as is, and maybe revisit the pose in another piece. Time will tell, I'm sure
Am reading your SHOUT IT OUT right now. Seems a valuable exercise, and very honest approach.
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I am very honest, thank you, and I really did like to make that piece. It's such a releave. And you have one good brain-training on it XD
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Beautiful sir, well done once again! I would not worry too much about getting paintings up, you do so well in the area of pencils! Not to mention your paintings are fantastic as well! Keep up the beautiful work!
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Ah, but you see, its a painting that Evey wants for a permanent record of the pregnancy. Choice and opinion get very little floor time
Thanks for the encouragement though. If I can only find a way to port some of these successes into colour, I think I'll be that little bit closer to getting things right
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I see... well I am sure it would come out fantastic anyways. I think your paintings are great
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Her expression fascinates me. I love how the drawing becomes a scene of everyday life. Seeing life grow in her, and with her
This is a lovely drawing, I really like it. The shading is amazingly done. I crosshatch too, it makes it easier to shade, no?
How are you all doing, if you don't mind my asking?
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Thanks for your kind words and interest.
Evey has a certain serenity about her that makes recording (as well as living with) her very rewarding. I'm very glad if some of this is coming through in the work.
I don't really cross-hatch consciously. Shadow seems to have a natural direction to it, and quite often there's an underlying plane that runs one way (like the shade falling acoss her cheek) whilst the detail shadow hits it almost perpendicularly.
I'm very pleased that you like the shading in this, as I battled a lot with it due my unfamiliarity with the tools. Evey bought me set of graphite pencils (its been a long lone time) and until I remembered to lean the stick a little they kept coming up sharp. This is why the strokes in the face and far arm are a little more pointed than on the right hand side of the piece. Being left handed, if I don't start up there I end up smudging everything I've done
We're good. Very good infact. See Evey's comments below (quite a way down, until she learns to use the reply feature 
We've had only busy weekends since moving house trying to get things ready for our new arrival, but work has finally slowed up enough for me to be able to help out a bit more. I'm getting the odd late night in, and am increasingly viewing these sketches as a chance to get my soul ready for fatherhood. Being a boy, I'm a bit of a robot, and drawing really helps my emotional fluency.
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Wow, this is great! I love your style. The pose and shading are awesome.
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Thanks for this. I'm glad you like it. The pose is all Evey, so I can't take credit there.
Hey! That icon is a piece I haven't seen from you. I'm off to check your gallery
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Cheers Jeanine.
Looks like I managed to outrun fate for long enough to squeeze in a piece
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Shhh you'll jinx yourself with that bad art day talk
Besides you already had one recently... its someone elses turn now... You cant be hogging all those bad art days and keeping them to yourself! You have to share!
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LOL.
Nah, I think I've got her distracted by talking of monochrome paintings (caught your post on my profile, thanks for that) when my next one will actually and secretly be a charcoal.
I'll see if I can pass a bad art day onto my colleagues in the office. They're not in the least artistic, so won't miss it.
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