Homework for Last Class of Spring

This assignment began the same way as earlier ones, with a prepared ground of charcoal (left) and a grid on plexiglass laid over the subject to be copied (below). I chose Walt Whitman for my subject. (Do not be confused by reflections of outdoor greenery on the plexiglass: that isn't part of the story.) 

First areas erased

Emerging face

With this last assignment for class, we were graduating to a full tonal range, shading from dark to light rather than dealing only with large pieces of single tones.

Above is my almost-complete copy (on right) next to the subject, and below is the stage reached when I decided to call it "good enough" and reach for the fixative. He isn't a perfect copy, but I'm pretty happy with him.

My biggest accomplishment with this and the previous assignment was eyeballing proportions instead of having to measure. Since proportion has long been a major weakness in my drawing, I feel good about this progress. My biggest problem was confusing my tools and reaching for a Q-Tip when what I really needed was a stump, thus removing charcoal when I had intended to blend -- necessitating several steps back to deal with my mistake. But it was a good class, and working with charcoal was a challenge and taught me a lot. That Elizabeth Abeel is a terrific teacher!