After my last sketch I watched more videos on sketching to try to get down the fundamentals, and I think I made some improvement. I realized I was holding the pencil as if I was writing, instead of using it more like a paintbrush. I also realized I had to shade in the dark areas and blend to light. I think this shows improvement. The image is Christina Aguilera, by the way. Oh, that’s another thing. I studied the reference image and kept it on the screen as I was drawing. I never did that before since most of the things I draw are from my head. This was done with a regular mechanical pencil and a Q-tip. I’m definitely going to have to buy some good sketching paper, pencils and tortillions now.

Mechanical Pencil on 20 lb Multipurpose Paper

Let’s see what happens when this very rough sketch — which my mother has decided to call “Peg” — meets this very rough canvas.

Sketch ; 8 x 10 Prepared Canvas (Mixed Media)

Last week, I finally decided to give painting on an actual canvas a try. It went pretty good. Honestly, I really didn’t notice much difference between store-bought canvases and my homemade canvases. The only obvious benefit is the weight and thickness the canvas panel offers. Therefore, I’ll probably alternate between both. Oh, this is also the biggest painting I’ve ever done. It’s 8 x 10. I love this size. It’s perfect for the type of painting that I do. Shading is still an issue for me, but I plan to do an art store haul soon, so hopefully I’ll find some mediums that will help with that. Anyway, this obviously it’s done. What you’re looking at is a prepared canvas with my sketch on top. I gesso’d the skin because I didn’t want the colored background to show through. I’ll post the finished painting soon.

8 x 10 Mixed Media Painting (Incomplete)