MACKY, 9" x 12", Mixed Media on Paper, 2010

This is another transformation from memory.

This time I actually requested to sketch this homeless guy for an agreed price for just 5 minutes.



The sketch looked very brief but I worked on the colour transformation a bit more.

Steps
1. I used a canson orange paper

2. Started sketching with watercolour with a flat sable for the basic parts of this portrait.

3. Start under-painting of the whole face and other features with burnt sienna washes of watercolour and olive green.

4. I introduce chalk pastel with broad strokes all over the face and clothes to block in the initial colours

5.I then move on to wax crayons to add expressive strokes and tie up the structure and harmony of colour all over the piece. I love these wax crayons as they are less messy and reveal more of my passion for linear strokes.

6. I then finish up with a soft black oil base pencil to add more detail and recover some of the drawing that gets lost during the expressive wax technique.

7. Call it quits........

"Grumpy Joe" 9" x 12", Pastel on gessoed cardboard, 2009

Another transformation. I sketched this guy yesterday, so his image was still fresh in my memory. I was attracted to sketch him because he had a really interesting face, the kind of face I love to sketch. The only problem was that, I was a bit to far away from him and couldn't really get to see his features clearly. Nevertheless I managed to get the most important bits down and when I got to my studio I quickly did this pastel sketch of it. I have also taken a picture of the set up to show how I laid my pastels, with the working area and reference.



I went about working on this piece as follows.

1. Got my gessoeed cardboard primed with white gesso and a neutral grey tint, which was a mixture of ultramarine blue and cadmium orange.

2. I start by running a few colours of pastel across the surface in a haphazard manner, just to break the plainness of the grey tint.

3.I start from the light areas, working on the big shapes first with all the light coloured pastels I feel will work for his skin tones in the light. There's no real formulae to this, I only respond to intuition.

4. Then I move to the darks and repeat the same process as I did for the lights. Its the big shapes first.

5. Now when the big shapes begin to look good, I start drawing into the shapes with my darker coloured pastels to get some of the features in.

6. It generally looks finished at this point and this is how simple 2 tones and some brief sketching basically bring the face forms to life.

7. Just before I wrap it up, I use some soft thin willow charcoal to sketch in some interesting lines and details, just to add some life to his face and that's it!

8. This was purely an experiment and the pastel medium gives one a lot of room to do that.

FROSTY , 8" x 11", Mixed Media on Grey Cardboard, 2009

This is another transformation, I sketched this guy just last week. Immediately I got into the bus and I saw his face I said to myself, "I'm not missing this one" So I positioned myself adjacent to him and sketched him, this lasted for only about 9 minutes after which he disappointingly had to get off at his stop.




I have gone about this one thus:

1. I sketch the face and vital features withe a brown Tom Bow dual brush marker.

2. I then use soft pastel by Winsor and Newton to bring out some basic tones and colour.

3. When there's enough pastel all over the piece, I retain the main drawing marks with the oil base pencil.


4. While using this black oil base pencil I try my best to give the piece some vibrancy and sensitive strokes- things I really like in lines.


5. I then introduce some more detail with my graphite H pencil, it is hard and can produce etch like lines to bring out forms without obliterating the pastel below.

6. I then introduce sanguine oil base pencil to liven up the black dull lines


7. Finally I add some highlights with soft pastel again and call it quits before further destruction

8. This whole piece is done in high tempo with a lot of whacking and hitting to produce a spark of life, something I strive to achieve when transforming these sketches so they won't become static transformations but still retain some of the vibrancy of a sketch!

Shattered! 11" x 13" Mixed Media on pastel paper, 2009

I sketched this guy not too long ago. The date on the sketch says 19th of December, 2008- so that wasn't long ago - still had memories of him.

I really wanted to capture him in a still but tense mood. He was sleeping and most likely snoring- could have been the result of a hard day at work or something else more personal......

I went about this one, thus

1. Start sketching directly with daler rowney hard pastels on dark grey pastel paper.

2. I then add tones with the hard pastels.

3. When I have enough information for a balanced tonal face, I switch to soft pastels

4. With the soft pastels I make the face richer with more colour strokes are added wildly to project the mood.

5. When I have enough colour on the whole surface I re-draw the main features with the Pitt extra soft oil base pencil.

6. Thought I would end this with the chalk pastels but it still lacks the punch I need to see, so I switch to wax crayons.

7. With the wax crayons I can get more permanent marks and it also binds the chalk below.

8. With the wax crayons I feel satisfied and call it quits before the ruin...........

This transformation again is done without any colour reference but just a love and passion for human faces and everything about them!