Finally..

Well, after a struggle to get the hair right, Detective Rizzoli is ready for duty! I have to say, I'm pleased with how she turned out. There are a few things I would have done differently, but  hope you like. .

My favourite drawing medium

I've tried a lot of different drawing mediums, and I'm always looking to try new ones, but my absolute favourite is graphite. It's so raw.

So pure. You can put so much intricate detail, and with the different hardnesses, you can achieve such a varied level of tone.

I like the pinpoint precision that you can get with graphite, and find that this works really well with portrait work.

I've just signed up for a portraiture course, and our first assignment is to do a portrait with graphite. Time to trawl some sites and photo files methinks.

Struggling to find inspiration

I don't know what's wrong with me, but I can't seem to find any inspiration at all at the moment. I hate not being able to feel creative. I feel like I'm being stifled. I just can't break free from it. I'm still struggling with the hair on my 'Jane Rizzoli' piece. I just can't seem to work out how to get the curly hair to show. Grrrr! I guess it's just a case of needing to persevere.

On the other hand, writing is going well. I finished three scenes today, and the story is moving along nicely.. So I guess I can't really complain that much. It's been a long time since I felt so positive about this book.

Art Classes. .

As September dawns, I find myself pondering my art classes. I have already signed up for my usual art club, but am still not sure about the portraiture class. It's one I really wanted to do last year, but couldn't because of the timing. I have an image that I think I'm going to attempt to paint, of  a girl with brightly coloured hair, standing on a train track. It reminds me of a couple of paintings I did a few years ago, one of which is "The Changeling". Now that I've found a piece of watercolour paper, I can stretch it tomorrow and then get started. Watch this space!