"Imperfect. And that's okay", I said. It's not like I'm being paid to draw this specific Portrait.

I used to make a lot of Portraits ~ Oil Paints, Pastels, and Pencils. Pencil Portraits. A long time ago. Before we all had computers.

My initial learning involved gridding. But then I figured ~ why work so hard ~ I started to trace the Reference Photo. Then fill in the values ~ carefully ~ using a gray-scale. I got great results. Very accurate.

Then computers came out. Not only could I have easily printed out the lines easier than tracing them, I could have even had the computer find the lines For me. And I think I could have even just told the Computer to affect the photo as though it was a Pencil Sketch (or Pastel or Oil Paint), and then print that out. But why would anyone want me to do that for them? So I switched to Caricatures ~ because, when well done, a Caricature needs the Artist's interpretation.

Tonight ~ wanting to take a break from my constant Caricature endeavors, I decided to revisit simple Pencil Portraits. No cheating. No printing, no tracing, no reference scale. Just drawing. Because that's what I wanted to do.

I used a photo of a man that I recently posted at my website as Reference ~ because I could still find a slightly larger file in my Computer's trash. I put the photo into PhotoShop, turned it upside down, and sort of started to copy the shapes ~ while guessing at values at the same time. Carelessly. I was figuring that I didn't care if it didn't look like him. It was just to feel the pencil making shapes. Just for 1/2 hour.

At the end of the 1/2 hour, I felt surprised at just how badly it turned out. I barely laid in some values ~ not surprised that I didn't get time to 'round them out' in only 1/2 hour, but it didn't look anything like him.

I do like doing puzzles ~ so I could see myself doing the fill-in-the-blanks type of Pencil Portraits that I used to do. But I didn't feel like it tonight.

So I smudged the whole thing together. And I dropped the Upside Down thing, and spent lol Another 1/2 Hour redrawing this right-side-up. Came out better.

I'm figuring that that Upside Down drawing thing was just an exercise for teaching that we're drawing shapes ~ not noses and boats and houses. Just triangles and ellipses and t'hat other shape'. I certainly don't need to learn that anymore. I know that. So I decided to apply real Art to my creative process. Copying the shapes right side up ~ with my Impression.

Now I know why we 'waste our time' doing this sort of stuff. It felt good to let the drawing harness my mind. I really got into it. Maybe I'll give myself the luxury of continuing this drawing later.

And if I decide to do this again, I'm hoping I'll leave the White areas white. Lifting them out with an eraser is torture

Follow Up the next day ~ I spent another half hour on this Self-Imposed Review. Pencil Sketch. I wished I had started it more carefully. What I learned is that there are good reasons why we learn to do things the way we do them.

Follow Up the next next day ~ I wished I had made the 'eyeglasses' bigger ~ just slightly would make it 'look like his glasses' ~ not exaggerated, but if I had paid attention to That ~ what Felt right to me ~ it would have affected all the Other shapes that built off of it.

Now I'm not interested in continuing this particular picture ~ because it's too much trouble to move such dark lines with such crummy erasers.

When I look through the Thousands of Photos that I haven't had time to post here yet, I can still remember the Parties where I drew them. Even though I go to several Parties every week. Even though I may have only been with these people for 5 or 10 minutes. Our interactions still affect me.

I'll post one of them now. I drew this Caricature several Years ago. At a House Party. I was drawing in the Living Room. Practically everybody in this Family was Blonde and So Beautiful ~ and I felt very comfortable with them. I figure that if I can remember the Party when I see the Caricatures, for sure Party Guests remember the Event when they see (or display) the Caricatures. Good times:

I'm not a machine. I can't just switch between this type of Art and that type of Art. I can't just say, "Now I'm going to draw an Exaggerated Caricature. And then I'm going to draw a Simplified Caricature." This is a feeling, an Art ~ not a Craft with rules to follow.

I really loved my Exaggerated Caricatures. It was so much Fun ~ for me as well as for the Cool Guests at the Parties. I admire Artists who draw in an Exaggerated Style. I don't like dinky Caricatures, but I do also admire Artists who draw in a Simplified Style. So I felt compelled to figure out that Simplified Style earlier this week. I did very well with that.

But my Client for tonight's Party surprised me. She's making a Party for 12-year-old Girls, and she actually said to me: "I don't know how to say this, but you know sometimes they draw well you know, but I want happy pictures with Color yes with Color that you know like Fun Pictures Not Boring."

"You found the right Artist", I happily said like yeah ~ This is what I like to hear! ...... I felt totally surprised because this isn't what I usually experience at 12-year-old Girl's Events..........

So I took a moment to get back in to my Exaggerated approach for drawing Caricatures, and I felt oh surprised. It's just been a few days now that I've been using my new Simplified Style, and I couldn't jump right back into my previous Exaggerated Style.

The First Picture posted here was my first attempt at drawing a 12-year-old Girl from a random photo that I found online. With my Exaggerated Style. Oh that's awful. That's not it. I've got to loosen up.......

So I drew a 2nd Caricature ~ ~ that one looked the most like the girl. But it was more in the Simplified Style that I had just developed earlier this week......

I was working from a Side-View Photo. Then I remembered that I had been Turning Front View Pictures in my mind to draw them 3/4 view ~ so I decided to do that with this Side-View Photo ~ this is Not easy to do. So the 3rd Caricature that I'm posting here was turned in my mind to be a 3/4 view. But it still wasn't Exaggerated enough. I'm still doing the Same Thing. The Simplified Style I switched to earlier this week. ......

About to post the pictures here, when I said 'I can do this. Just go for it. And I drew the 4th picture. It is more Exaggerated, but not enough. I know what to do. I know what to do. Let me do it again......

But I have to wake up in 2 hours for my first Event of the day.

I'm glad I'll have several Hours after my Early Morning Event before drawing at the Exaggerated 12-year-old Girl's Party.

I know just what to do. But I'll feel better if I do it right Before I get to the Party

Follow Up: I did it! No time to Color it ~ I got to get out to this Party. But I'm back. Back into Exaggerations. Perfect!

The Sweetest! We had an amazing time! The artist [Alison] was amazing and boy did we have fun! Alison was the sweetest!

Emely Estella - Vizrt Americas