"Angel on my Shoulder"

I finally finished it. I decided to just leave the background black. I think anything else added in would just be too much. I like the simplicity, and the negative space. I can see plenty of improvements that could be made, but I just need to stop working on it. I'm going to start a painting soon, I'll have updates about that soon. I'll update my site with this drawing tomorrow it's getting late right now and I need some sleep.

There is a story behind the concept of this piece and I had wanted to wait until I had finished it to tell it. My grandmother was very important to me, she was like a mom for me. Years ago she was about to go in for lung reduction surgery and she was a bit worried about complications that might arise during the surgery. Honestly, so was I. I remember, quite vividly being in her kitchen talking to her about it. She was trying to prepare me for the worst. She told me that if anything happened to her, she would still look out for me. She would be an angel on my shoulder. That memory is so vivid I can still feel her hand taping on my shoulder. She made it through that lung reduction surgery, and got a little better for awhile. I lost her my senior year in high school. I've had some pretty big moments since then that I've really wanted to have her there for, moments that I had talked with her about. Through those moments I've remembered what she told me about her being the angel on my shoulder, and I've felt that she's been there for it all. Since my wedding I have been trying to think of way to visually express that moment and how I've been feeling about it. Thinking about her being there for me has really helped me out. I wanted to capture the happiness that thought brings me, in this piece. That sudden feeling of her hand on my shoulder that makes me feel not so alone.
She gave me so much, and she was always there for and will always continue to be. Just now she's there for me as that angel on my shoulder.

"Angel on my Shoulder" Updates

I think I've finished the right arm though I may need a little tweaking and I may need to go back into the shirt a little too. I did turn this photo black and white, which I probably shouldn't have done because it just doesn't look as true to life. I started layering in a bit more of the background. I have some light lines laid in to define the arm so if I decide to go for a more gray background I can go back over it with some white and lighten it up. I just want to see the black first and go from there.

"Angel on my Shoulder": updates

I actually got more done than I was expecting to. Though I need to go back in and round out the one part of the chest a bit. I struggled with the folds in under the chest in the shirt but I think they actually turned out right. I'm happy with where the arm is going. Though the line that shows up makes the arm look too big, it's just an old line there is a lighter line next to it that has the arm thinner. I started filling in the background a little. I've decided that I'll at least lay in a base of black and then maybe come back over it and sketch in something lightly with white pencil.
Also I took the photo and cropped to the size of the paper this time to give a better idea the actual composition. Though I may crop in more on the left. I'm not sure I may leave it as is.

"Angel on my Shoulder" little more progress

I didn't get much done because it is horribly hot right now. I'll try to work more on it tomorrow. I also have to remember to finish the hair. I almost forgot about the right side. I'm still unsure about the angle of the shirt and some of the shading on the chest, but the neck line is rather close to the reference. Though I do think I could bring it down a little on the left. Also I want to go back in and revisit the lips I think the bottom lip looks a little too outlined.

"Angel on my Shoulder" no photos just been thinking

I've been posting my progress on WetCanvas, I've gotten a lot of feedback and one person just make a comment about hand on the glasses. He says it doesn't look like it's touching. It was a very light touch and I really didn't think it was that important. So now I started comparing the two photos, photo of the progress and reference photo. The hand's shadow is actually a good bit off, but without direct comparison it looks fine. I'm not sure if I should go back and try to fix that. Also the arm is more straight down in my drawing and it's more at an angle in the reference photo. That I think I may fix. The arm has been bothering me a lot but I couldn't quite pin point what it was. I think that angle is what is off to me. I'll work on fixing it tonight. From what I can see it won't change much of the shadowing just move over the edge lines. I think that arm being at the correct angle will be better for when I start work on the rest of the shirt.

"Angel on my Shoulder" updates

I'm still unsure of the texture in the arm, thought it is better. I'm also now unsure of the texture of the chest, it's also looking really uneven to me. Looking at the photo I just took I need to re-examine that neckline in the shirt too. The neck needs more work as well though it's looking better I think. I'm pretty happy with my progress though I would have done more tonight if it wasn't for the heat and my knee starting to hurt.

"Angel on my Shoulder": updates

I've filled in the arm though I'm not completely happy with it. I don't like the texture that I have right now, it doesn't have the same smoothness as the rest of the drawing. I also think I need to re-examine that bottom lip. I'm pretty happy with the hair I just laid in and the start I have on the neck though I'm thinking the width is still looking a bit off. Maybe the next should be thinner... I'm not sure. I'll have to work on everything tomorrow. I'd like to fix all those problems and get down into the chest tomorrow. I could be tackling the background by next week at this rate.

"Angel on my Shoulder": some updates

Again it's not much, and what I did get done needs some work, especially those teeth and that chin. I think both need to be darker. At least I have the head filled in, except for that right side of the hair. I'm still not sure what to do with the background. I'm going to check look one more place for those masks and see if I can find them. I'm not sure what I would use them for if I found them anyway.

I also created an Etsy shop today: http://jessicamckelvin.etsy.com
I have a few pieces listed for sale right now, if this goes well I'll list more later.

"Angel on my Shoulder" little more progress

The color on the photo is very off because of I still had the lamp on when I took the photo, and I just couldn't seem to correct the color in photo shop. I'm still thinking the nose looks a little crooked, and I tried to fix that one part of the hand I was unhappy with. I need to revisit the hand again that one shadow is just too dark it and it bothers me. I'll try to fix the nose when I work on it tomorrow. It might look less off when I get mouth laid in. I did get most of the hair laid in, at least the top. I'm trying to work my way down to reduce the chance of smearing. I've thought about blending with one of the paper stumps but just using both pencils over each seems to be going pretty well. I'm really afraid to use the stump because I'm happy with what I have and I'm afraid to mess it up. Though I do think some of it could use some extra blending, though that may be just me being overly picky.

"Angel on my Shoulder" Updates

I did get the hand and the rest of the white filled in on the face. I need to fix a few things with the palm, and I didn't get as much of the hair filled in as I wanted. I can work on that more tonight, hopefully. If I don't get to work on it tonight I can definitely find time tomorrow. I'm also thinking now the nose may be a little crooked, but I can fix that when I start to fill in the white there. I'm still no closer to figuring out the background than I was before. I may go looking through Grandma's old things on Tuesday for inspiration.

Angel on my Shoulder: progress

I didn't add much to the overall sketch but I started adding in the white. I like the fingers for the most part, a few darks need to be work on, but the knuckles are looking a bit wide to me. I think I need to work that out. I was playing with the idea of cropping the composition at the top to match the reference photo. I'm still at a loss for the background, but I just made the realization that I'm really happy I included my hand in this.

"Angel on my Shoulder"

I have this title in mind since I came up with the concept. I'll explain the concept and title when the piece is finished. So far I'm really happy with the progress. I think I need to to thicken the wrist and maybe lengthen the palm. The nose almost looks like I might have started a mustache under it right now because I initially made the nose too long. I was thinking the angle of the nose was wrong until I looked at this photo, I think it's actually right. Right now I'm going to use a flat black background, mostly because I'm focusing on the light of the figure and also I'm not sure what I would put in the background. The reference photo is no help, the background is just a messy room (I cleaned after I took the photo, doesn't make much sense I know). I may still do something in the background, not sure though. I've seen a lot of portrait with what seems to be just a plain wall with some sort of decorative element on it. I may try something like that.

Also I have to say I've had this general idea that for this piece that I had been struggling to find a composition for, and I got inspiration for this from Erin McCarley's "Pitter-Pat" though my concept really doesn't match up with her song just a few lines matched up with my thoughts and I came up with the idea for the pose.

Reflective

I finished that small self portrait. It's only 5" x 7" but I feel really good about going into the next drawing. I'll start the next drawing in the next few days and some progress shots up. The next drawing is going to be about the size of "Angelic."

New Self Portrait (small one)

I started a small self portrait. It's my first attempt at a self portrait with glasses. Overall I think it's a great start. I think the glasses look rather good, so it gives me some confidence going into my larger drawing. I should be able to finish this one in the next few days. I would have worked on it more tonight, but I started getting a bit light headed.

Also I'm going to hold off on that flower drawing. I made a small attempt earlier and it just didn't work out. I'll try drawing flowers again another time. I've always struggled with landscapes and anything really related to nature.

New drawings coming soon

I took the reference photo for my next drawing. I didn't expect to get it so soon, but I have it. I also found a reference photo for lilacs. I'm going to start working on that drawing tomorrow. It's going to be a small 7" x 5" colored pencil drawing. Also in taking photos for my next big drawing I came up with a reference photo that I like but just won't work for my concept and I might try to do a smaller drawing of it before I start working on the larger one. It might help me to do a successful self portrait with glasses before starting on this big one. Anyway I'd really like to get the flower drawing done before Easter. I'd like to make it a gift to my grandmother. If not I can always save it for Mother's day. I still have to decide which drawings I'm entering in which competitions. I know I want to enter "Polynesian Slumber" and "Beautiful Dreamer" though I'm not sure if I want to enter both into both competitions or just submit one to each. Or maybe if I should submit "Angelic" into the new competition. I might just do both into both, if I can afford it. I have until the end of this month to figure it out. I plan to start painting after I finish this next big drawing. I may get some canvases to start out with, since I won't have to order them online. I can just get them at the store. I do want to try hard board though. It may just have to wait. I'll also have to get an easel and I'll be set. I need to focus on this big drawing first though, and of course this little flower one. Timing and how I feel will dictate whether I do that smaller self-portrait first or not.

"Beautiful Dreamer"

"Beautiful Dreamer" is complete and ahead of schedule. I beat my deadline by a month. I feel really good about that. Of course I don't feel this is perfect I never feel much of anything I do is perfect, but I'm done fussing with it. Some parts of it already a bit overworked. It's time to take what I've learned and move on to something new. Overall I'm happy and I like it.

More Updates

The lighting is causing a glare which lightens up some of the left side, but still it's good enough for an update. Aside from a few fixes as usual I'm really happy. I think about 1 or 2 days more and I'll be finished with drawing and moving on. I just need to fill in the background and work on those small fixes. This is also going to be the last update before I post the finished drawing.

Updates

I'm happy with the hands, well except for my pinkie. It looks a little awkward but I figure it will come together when I start shading things in. I think I may have flattened out the values in the chest a bit much. I think it needs more darks. I can almost hear Mr. G yelling "Get darker!" It will get there though I think I might lighten up some of the top part of the dress.I'm really happy with the work I did today, and I'm excited about working on it more. I'd be working more on it tonight but I have to get up early in the morning. Also I think maybe I should work on my thumb a bit more. The shape looks a bit off at least on the top. I'm also trying to spread out a bit more and work on the background as well. I laid in a bit of the pattern on the pillow. I think as long as I get the shading on my dress spot on I won't need the pattern. I should start sketching in some of that right side background tomorrow though.

More Progess: Beautiful Dreamer

Again the quality of the photo is sub par, but I've gotten some progress done. I laid in the second figure's hair. I may have to darken the shading a bit in her face and adjust the top of the hair line, other wise I think everything with her looks great. There's not enough done on the dress for me to feel one way or another about. I started laying in a bit more of the background, and I'm pretty happy with it so far. My biggest concern right now looking at the photo is hair on the second figure looks a bit detached. I'm starting to feel a bit better about the first figure's hand. I made the right on the first figure a bit larger because when I laid in the background it felt a bit awkward. Anyway I'm overall pretty happy with it, aside from the need of a few adjustments. I still feel that I'm ahead of schedule and I'm feeling really good about that.

Beautiful Dreamer: some progress

I did some work on my drawing. I spent quite a bit of time just trying to sketch out where the arms and hands should be. I also laid in some light lines for about where I want the other two borders. I've also decided to eliminate the two poles that would be in the background. They cover up part of the neat texture area of the wall, and are just a bit too light to be in the background. Because of the sculpture you really only see a little bit of them. The bothered me so now I just won't include them. I hadn't even sketched them in yet, I just stopped the top part of the wall where they would start so I just continued it. It was my easiest fix of the night. I don't have a photo of the progress, but the lighting is terrible and there's not too much to show. I darkened some of the shading in the second face, sketched in the ear and started some of the hair. I may actually finish this drawing ahead of schedule if I keep up on it. That would be great.

I may do a painting after this, but I'll have to see if AC Moore sells hardboard. If not I can always start on that next drawing. I do have a canvas panel and I could just do a quick self-portrait, before I start the drawing. I'm going to work in charcoal but it will be a larger size. It shouldn't take me too terribly long to complete it though. I tend to work faster in charcoal.