The eyes have it

Happy New Year!  Hooray it's only January 3rd and I'm back at the drawing table!  Today I'm beginning a series of graphite drawings for your viewing pleasure.  January to me is cold and bleak and the colors come in shades of grey.  So why not spend some serious time with grey and see what we come up with?  I do love drawing with pencil -- you can achieve an infinite range of nuance and subtlety going from silvery white to practically black .  I promise by the end of this little exercise, you are going to love the color grey, and perhaps January won't seem so bleak after all!



So why eyes?  Not exactly botanical!  Well, these are my eyes, and I'm rather fond of them.  Yesterday, sweet daughter Katie gave me an eye makeover, which required us to take a hard look at my face for an extended period of time.  I don't stare at my face often (hence the need for the makeover) and I was reminded what a beautiful thing eyes are. 

I remember drawing my eyes years ago when I was back in school.  Today, staring into my little mirror, I found those same eyes residing in an older, wiser face.  The CoverGirl look is long gone, as little lines and wrinkles establish themselves.  (These eyes have seen a thing or two!)  It is way more fun drawing older eyes, I must admit.  There's more character to them, and I can blame all the imperfections and asymmetry on age, not my pencil!

In portrait work, it is the eyes that nail it, if you ask me.  Capture the eyes and you've got the person.  I think I came pretty close in this sketch . . .  I have to say it was disconcerting to look down at the paper and see me staring back! 

I'm organizing a new schedule for myself here in the new year (aren't we all?), which should result in more frequent blog entries.  Check back often, and see what I'm up to!
Enjoy, and best wishes for an abundance of good things in 2012!