I started the exercise by making drawings from photos of myself taken 5 or 6 years ago, and did others drawing myself from life by looking in a mirror, which gave me an idea of how much I have changed.
1. One-hour drawing in charcoal pencil and soft pastel on light grey pastel paper - from one of my wedding photos
I chose this picture because apart from being one of the most important days in my life, I like the natural light on the side of my face. The result is not however very accurate in terms of facial proportions as the nose and the mouth are too small and too close together making the face too short.
I do however like the depiction of the hair and the softness of the skin, which I blended using a very soft stencil brush. Overall It’s not a great portrait as it looks a bit cartoonish
2. 20-minute drawing in 2B Pencil on A3 mixed media paper, from a photo
I like the result as it’s very accurate relative to the photo and was fairly easy to do it.
3. 20-minute drawing in blue ballpoint pen with crosshatching technique, on A4 cartridge paper, looking in a mirror
This is a bit cartoonish, and apart from the style of hair it's not a good likeness.
4. 35-minute drawing in willow charcoal on A4 cartridge paper looking in a mirror
This is less cartoonish than the previous one, and when I asked friends if they recognise the person they said it was a older version of me. My husband said it was something between me and my mother, which might suggest progress of some sort I suppose.
5. 50-minute drawing in willow charcoal on A3 mixed media paper looking in a mirror
I did this using a lamp so the light was coming from the right side, and decided to wear my glasses to see what difference that made, and I think it made my eyes look smaller.
Also I tried to experiment in the style of Gildo Medina, introducing watercolour on top of charcoal, although he uses pencil, the watercolour gave the portrait an interesting and modern look. I like the result though I think it needs something else but am not sure what - I will keep thinking about that.
6. A 1 hour-ten minute drawing in willow charcoal on A3 mixed media paper looking in a mirror
I think I got a better likeness but once again people said I made myself look too old. I decided to colour the background only, and though the colours look reasonable I think they make the drawing too predictable and stop the energy somehow. I will keep experimenting with colours and shapes to see if I can do better.