1) Upper body, oil pastel on paper, 48 x 36 cm
Reviewing my earlier studies, I found that the small soft paint pastel study of the arm and shoulder looked quite interesting, despite the restricted palette. I decided to do a follow-up study using oil pastels and see whether I could get closer to the colours I wanted. I also tried to reconnect to the sensuality I perceived when drawing the graphite tonal sketch.
I like this study despite its flaws. I think the right arm is a bit too thin. I think I managed to re-introduced the softness of the hair flowing around the head, and the posture of head and body is very successful. Also the minimalist tonal shadings of the skin works well to indicate the structure of the body. Maybe I could include some more internal structure in the face.
2) Upper body, 9B graphite and coloured graphite pencils, A2 (19 October)
I decided to use the coloured pencils on top of the graphite to give just a minimal tone to the skin (brownish) versus the cushion (blueish), and added a brown and violet tone to trousers and sofa. The colours are almost invisible, but the tone helps to separate the shoulders from the cushion. This addresses the problem of similar tone. I worked out the face a bit more than in the oil pastel drawing. I found it difficult to do enough, yet not overdo.
Final drawing
I was hesitating between pastels (on white or dark paper) and pen and ink with coloured pencils. I thought that pastels would be too bold to include details of the face and wanted to try out whether my earlier approach of combining pen and ink with colour would work on a larger scale.
I started with a pencil outline and tried to get the entire figure proportionally correct on the A2 sheet. When I felt it was about right, I began with pen and ink, and chose an indigo tone. I made tiny marks first to indicate where the basic elements were, then added hatching to create tone. Working with ink took very long because I wanted to achieve those really dark tones of the trousers on the sofa. There were phases where I thought that I wouldn’t bring this drawing to an end because the hatching did not look fine enough and I felt that I had spoilt face, hands and feet with misplaced marks. I decided to persist and try to work over the difficult areas. Then finally I thought I couldn’t add any more ink marks whithout destroying the drawing, and took a break.
I was quite frustrated because I had worked such a long time on it but the drawing did not have the appeal of the earlier pastel or graphite studies of the upper body. After a coffee and some analysis what I did not like and how I might improve the drawing, I decided to add coloured pencil. This changed the entire character of the drawing. By adding a skin tone, the figure came to life, and the grey-purple tone of the cushion provided a nice contrast. The dark brown and violet tones on the trousers and sofa leveled out the irregular hatching marks and greatly improved the overall impression.
