Creepy Carter

I started drawing another portrait of Carter.. and was failing miserably. It was then that I realized that I was taking it way too seriously and as a result, my head was getting in the way. To cure this I threw all concepts of photo realism out of the window and went nuts. It's a little demented. My sister says it's "evil and sick".. but she also laughs. In my defense, I started drawing this around Halloween. heh.

Karmyn

This one was a lot of fun. I wanted to do something different for Karmyn's portrait. I didn't want to use the same techniques and supplies that were used in drawing her brothers, mostly in the spirit of learning and growing as an artist.

All of Karmyn's childhood she has had SO many pictures taken that it was getting hard to pick which one I would use for this portrait. Then one day they came home from Chucky Cheese while I was sketching and the solution literally fell on my lap. This picture was drawn from a "portrait" done in the photo booth. It was grainy. The contrast was super high. Seemed like a challenge.

I LOVE this one. Two things were learned. I did not use a blending stump or blending tortillion in any fashion, giving it a completely different feel. Also, the paper I used is marketed as being for charcoal. It has a very rough texture and gave it that grainy look I was hoping for.

I have been wanting to revisit this style for some time now. Maybe I should start one..

Devin

Not long after I finished my portrait of Carter, I took it upon myself to draw the rest of my sister's kids. I was feeling incredibly confident in my abilities and knew it was a perfect time to keep going.

I think that with this one my shading was much better. Speaking mostly about contrast. It turned out to be a well balanced picture that didn't feel too busy.

Carter

This is the one that started it all.

Las Vegas, 2006: I had just lost my job as a car salesman. Lost by choice, more or less. I had it in me to be a great salesman but I just couldn't stomach the idea of it. I didn't want to be defined by that. Before returning home to Utah, I rented a weekly room in the worst kind of roach motel you could think of. It was destitute, occupied by degenerates, and truly dirty. Perfect.

I found there a humbling sense of where I fit in the scheme of things. This place was necessary to knock me down a few notches on the ego ladder. It was quiet. There was no phone. No T.V. It allowed me to think, reflect, and.. draw.

The inner peace found in such an ugly setting was surprising, as was the result on paper. I found myself on that broken table, through my art. This was a portrait that was the product of my paradigm shift. Encouraging. When I draw now, it brings me to the same meditative state. This is my most important piece for all of these reasons.