{"id":30962,"date":"2020-01-04T10:24:29","date_gmt":"2020-01-04T15:24:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mindfulartstudio.com\/?p=30962"},"modified":"2020-02-11T10:51:17","modified_gmt":"2020-02-11T15:51:17","slug":"drawing-beautiful-imperfect-faces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mindfulartstudio.com\/drawing-beautiful-imperfect-faces\/","title":{"rendered":"Drawing Beautiful & Imperfect Faces"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Dear Wonderful, Creative You: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most meaningful and satisfying skills I have learned as an artist is how to draw faces – realistic, emotional, imperfectly expressive faces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drawing faces is skill I use to capture so many of my feelings,<\/strong> especially those mom feelings. It helps me capture precious moments. It helps me resolve my troubled heart when I question myself, and it is a beautiful way to dwell with someone I love so much, whether I’m trying to draw him while he sits quietly watching tv, or whether I’m drawing from a photo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve been doing a series for the last few years. My only rule is to focus on embracing imperfection and emotion. I find that as long as I do this, I’m able to capture something pretty special. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drawing faces is one of those skills that almost every student tells me they would like to acquire, but can’t imagine doing well. Of course there are some skills to practice, but I also think a HUGE part of learning to draw is learning to SEE and learning to be okay with imperfection. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is why I love blind contour drawing. It’s a practice that invites you to slow down, look deeply at your subject (or photograph) and tune into the little details that make portraits come alive. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"online<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Both the drawing above and below are rather “wonky,” but it’s also what makes them feel emotional and special to me.<\/strong> I usually work in pen, not erasing, and giving myself permission to just explore. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the piece below – my son’s torso got shortened significantly, and he’s wearing a funny hat and glasses in the photo I chose. But I felt there was something really genuine in this piece. So I kept going.<\/strong> I added color, and then I added my free writing on the side. I feel like this piece speaks to his personality with the funny hat and glasses, and the writing is a beautiful way to record my feelings as a mom. It’s special to me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a perfect example of how it pays to embrace imperfection and see where an image takes you<\/strong>. If only you give your portraits a chance to exist – imperfectly, beautifully, just like us – they will take you magical places. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"online<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n