Loss of confidence

I feel a bit lacking in confidence right now. I don't know why really, it's just, I sort of want to work with reckless abandon, but in doing so, I'm losing the accuracy.
I don't feel inspired, and I really want to be. I hate not feeling able to draw.

Portraiture

Loving the new class. I sorta wish I could just get to the next one sooner.

i feel like being able to focus on it is really giving me confidence. I just hope I can keep on being as inspired.

New Pic

I have just began working on a life study of the beautiful Sara Morgan, dressed as a Spanish dancer. I love everything about this photo, from the pose, to the look on her face, to the outfit, which is just fierce! I only hope I can do it justice. I think it's so important to capture a persons spirit in a portrait..
To me, if you can't do that, then even the best drawn portrait in the world is worthless.

I just need to get the character right. She's such a bubbly girl, and I need to show that. I spent two hours on out today and I'm feeling quite pleased with it. Not a huge amount to do on it now.. Maybe I'll have it done by the weekend.

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!