Johnathan

I try to get a balance in my portraits of young and old, male and female, and as many different skin colours and faces from all over the world as I can find. Obviously Sktchy is my source and it’s an app that’s used globally so there’s an incredible range of faces to choose from, from every corner of the world. But it’s still dominated by young women, and probably predominantly Caucasian. And these are the faces I’m most comfortable drawing. But I’m trying to push myself to be braver and move outside that comfort zone.

I struggle with black skin because I haven’t drawn enough of it; I can’t get the smooth transitions I get when I draw white skin. I have to think much harder about my colour choices and I need a lot more practice with my actual drawing. So I need to hunt out many more BAME faces on Sktchy and get practicing.

I drew Johnathan in a Midori cotton sketchbook with Copic markers and Prismacolor coloured pencils.

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hareinthemoon

I love drawing things. These days I am rarely found without a pen, pencil or stylus in my hands. In my working life I spend a lot of time in meetings and classrooms, reading papers and strategies, so my home life provides a creative antidote to all that! I also have chronic pain, lots of it. I have scoliosis, fibromyalgia and CRPS, so my life is a balancing act, trying to balance work, which make me feel part of the real world, with pain, which is ever present, and art, which soothes my pain.

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