Trees, trees, trees...

I've been drawing a lot of them lately! I mentioned in my last post that I was drawing from memory rather than a reference, and posted above are a couple of sneak peeks. Nothing too exciting yet! I do have reference photos that I'm using for the subject (me), but I'm disregarding the small partially green shrubs, vines, and trees in the background because I want a more stark feel. I have been paying close attention to the trees while on my morning run for added inspiration. Working without a reference right in front of you is SO liberating! I will work from a photo reference when drawing myself, but the great thing is that I can also look in the mirror to for additional detail and more accurate skin tones.

A Little Creativity...

I don't have a new image to post today, but I did start working on something where much of the piece is out of my imagination! I always deviate from photo references in some way, even for portrait commissions where I like to use my memory of meeting with the subject(s) to incorporate unique facial expressions that define their character. For my figurative works, I often deviate much more from the actual references, something that I find not only enjoyable but also fundamental to my role as an artist.

So for my latest piece I decided to really exercise my creativity and place myself in a background almost completely out of my imagination, while aiming to mainting a somewhat realistic feel. I will post photos next week (I might even post some of my references), so stay tuned!