Vanitas drawing 2 started

Here is the under drawing of "Vanitas 2" I started 2 days ago. This is slightly smaller (20" x 26") than the last one. This time the subjects are a female figure and a pomegranate that is cut open. I am planning to do this also all in graphite. A couple of days ago, I showed my Vanitas 1 drawing and chicken blood salt prints to my gallery. The gallery owner really liked the direction my work was heading. I hope I can accumulate a collection of work and hopefully will have my next show fairly soon...

Vanitas drawing finished

I finished my first Vanitas drawing. The time I spent on this piece was approximately 150 hours just for drawing alone and I think it shows in the piece. It is not perfect and there is still room for improvement but I feel I did my best with my current ability and did not cut the corners. I like how the zig-zag pattern created by the torso, the arm and the stem of the flower guides your eyes through the composition from the top to the bottom. I am pleased with the overall look and the feel of the piece. I am ready to move onto the next one.

Vanitas drawing day 23

It took me about 4 days to finish the flower. This was another part, as well as the background, that I decided not to use watercolor for and I am glad I continued on with graphite. All and all I am pleased with what I got so far. Now the only part that hasn't been worked on is the fabric directly behind the flower. This will take a few more hours. Then I am going to refine the whole piece making minor adjustments. I have been working at a steady pace of approximately 6 hours a day. I am keeping a log so that this information will come in handy when I estimate the time I will need to work on other pieces.

Vanitas drawing day 18

Rendering of the fabric and the background took me a little over a week, and it's pretty much done. I am ready to work on the flower next. When I started working on this piece, I was thinking about mixing graphite and watercolor, but have changed my mind not to do so. I was not too happy about the way the transition from one medium to the other looked and couldn't figure out how to make it smoother and more seamless. So this piece is going to be all in graphite, I think. I might revisit the mixed media idea later.

Vanitas drawing day 9

I finished rendering the hair today. It is kind of embarrassing to say this, but I am really learning for the first time how to use my graphite pencils effectively. Graphite has never been my go-to medium and I haven't had a chance to spend enough time exploring its potentials until now. I am truly amazed by the difference of the leads, how they behave differently to the paper surface. Even only one step move from 2B to 3B gives surprisingly different results. I am using wide range of leads working on this piece from 3H to 6B and every lead in between. I am also using powdered graphite, blending it with a stump to lay down a "wash". Powdered graphite gives my drawing a slightly different tone from the tones you get from pencils which is also exciting.