It's Been a While...

A long while but sometimes you get really busy during the summer and are not as artsy as you want to be.  That's what happened to me.  But today the sun was shining, the fall weather was beautiful and I was inspired to create a drawing, which I did.  I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out even though I wished I hadn't shaded it quite so dark.  Live and learn I guess.

-Lauren

Scenery

I don't usually draw too much scenery, but I was asked if I could draw some flowers, so I gave it the old college try.  From far away flowers look perfect, but when I looked at them closely I found that the petals were all different sizes, turned different ways and definitely not uniform.  They were very unique.  I added a little dash of color because I've tried it before and the black and white with one object in color gives the drawing a little bit of "pop." Overall I'm fairly happy how it turned out.

-Lauren

Eyes

I've been crazy busy! But here's a new post.  I really like the way the eyes turned out on this picture.  Making eyes look lifelike requires a lot of different shading and you also have to leave white spots in the eyes where the light reflects. Also drawing and shading the small part of the eyelid and the eyelashes adds a dimension to the drawing.  I feel that the eyes are the most difficult part because they have to be the same size and symmetrical and the right distance apart to make the face look real.  All the rest of the facial features consist of a few lines and then some shading.

-Lauren

Contrasting Colors

This is the second picture I've posted with red lips but its actually the first I ever did.  I was a bit hesitant at first to color in the lips after I had completed a "greyscale" picture because I thought I would ruin it .But it turns out it adds a lot of character to the drawing and makes it stand out more.



-Lauren
 

It's been a couple of days...

It's been a couple of days, I've been uber busy but I finished a drawing tonight that I started working on this weekend.  I'm pretty happy with this drawing.  I find old movie stars to be very glamorous so I looked up a few pictures and found one that I really liked so I decided to draw it.  Again, this is a charcoal drawing.

-Lauren

Make-Up Advertisements

Make-up advertisements are a great source of pictures for portraits because they are always close-up shots  with perfect lighting and flawless skin.  This is were I got the source for this picture from.  It's a pencil drawing, it seems pretty simple with very few lines but I really enjoyed how it turned out.  To me it looks effortless.

-Lauren

Shading and Pretty Dresses

I like drawing a good flow-y dress that has movement and character to it.  It's kind of fun capturing the way the dress moves.  Pair that with some shading and shadows and I'm a happy camper.  Shading gives the drawing another dimension then if it was just a few lines on the paper.  And considering that I'm left handed and involuntarily smug my drawings all the time, the shading makes it look like I meant to do it :)

-Lauren

Some people just have good faces...

Like this guy.  I liked the hat, glasses combo and some people are just REALLY pretty.  I like the challenge of taking a photo and trying to recreate it with pencil.  Pencil provides the opportunity to get really detailed with the drawing because I have different pencils for different shades and also for fine lines vs. broader lines. 

-Lauren

Charcoal

I finished this one over the weekend. I'm starting to like this charcoal thing :) I like the shading ability it allows, much better then pencil and I can cover more space with a single stroke.  The only problem with charcoal is I can't erase it, so each line I draw better come out the way I want it to.

-Lauren

The Human Body

Drawing male and female bodies are very different. Men have very defined features while women don't have too much definition.  I find male figures to be easier to draw because you can clearly see muscle lines and they are more "boxy".  Female figures call for more subtlety and it tends to be more difficult making the drawing look "real".  It's always satisfying once you finish a drawing.

-Lauren

Faces

I've always had a heck of a time trying to draw faces.  Every time I tried to draw one it just ended up looked distorted and unfortunate.  Most of my drawings are of a body, with a head but the face is blank (I kind of like the way those have turned out though). One day I was determined to draw a legit face, so I broke the paper up into little squares and went from there.  The results have been pretty positive; the people actually look like people. Now whenever I draw a portrait I feel very accomplished.

-Lauren

A drawing from a while ago

I get a lot of drawing ideas from pictures in magazines.  Sometimes I see a dress, outfit or portrait in which I HAVE to recreate. I don't really like to get creative with what I see so I like to keep my drawings  looking exactly like the picture.  Maybe I'll evolve and start to add my own touches.

-Lauren

My first "Being Artsy" Post

This past weekend I finished my first ever charcoal drawing and I was extremely happy with the results. So for the past couple of days I've had this urge to draw more and become a better artist and I also wanted to create a place where I can show what I've done (which I've rarely ever done).  Alas, I've created a blog, "Lauren Being Artsy" where I will post some of my art work.

With that being said here is my charcoal drawing from this past weekend.  I saw a photograph in a magazine and had a strong desire to recreate it.  Seeing as a couple of years ago I couldn't draw a face to save my life, I pretty proud of the results.

-Lauren