#30Faces30Days

It's been 5 months since my last post...I guess I could be forgiven since much has happened since then. I was fortunate to be able to visit my family in South Africa in the latter part of October and November. It was SO good after so long to spend quality time with family and friends - so special.

Now to catch up, I’m going  back to the beginning of the year. The NEW Year is a time to make resolutions, start a new diary or journal and generally try to set the tone for the new year. 

I decided that since I would be on holiday for most of January, with my art classes only re-starting at the very end of the month, I would undertake this challenge run by Sktchy#30Faces30Days - Pen & Pencil. I’ve previously taken part in #30 Faces30 Days using Procreate but this was my first using analog tools.

Sktchy is a global arts community providing artists with inspiration and many inspiring classes covering all aspects of art, concentrating on portraiture. The classes are hosted by Mighty Network making these available to both IOS and Android users. 

Museum by Sktchy is for IOS only.

The month long challenge provides a daily tutorial, usually 60 minutes - often longer - by one of three tutors. The video gives intensive demonstration of the technique in the artist’s particular style. 

My usual process is to watch the introduction first and about 30 minutes of the lesson. I then do a rough sketch of the portrait. Watching the video on my iPad allows me to make use of a split screen so I can see the reference at the same time.

I used the Epsilon sketchbook by Stillman & Birn 8’ x 10”. It’s a very good surface for both ink and graphite. 

Here are a couple of my favourite portraits.

Muse: Sydney Bocknek from Museum by Sktchy

Tutor: Laura Cronin 

Graphite

Muse: Beatriz Futtigami 

Tutor: Graceina Samosir

Pink ballpoint pen 

Muse: Tori Cherry

Tutor: Justin Maas

Graphite and white pastel on Strathmore toned paper

And now a compilation of all 30 portraits. This was such a good way to start the year - I watched every tutorial and completed all the portraits - success!