Introduction: Still Life Challenge #1

You might be familiar with painter Karin Jurick's blog, "Different Strokes from Different Folks" where she hosts painting/drawing challenges. In 2009, I had the pleasure of joining one of her challenges called "Portrait Swap Challenge" in which artists were paired off to paint/draw each other. Anyway, I thought I'd start a similar take on Ms. Jurick's challenges. Here it goes:

I would give rough, descriptive words on still life composition/arrangement, then you may either use photographs or set up your props and paint from life. This way, there will be a lot of room to use our creativity. You may use any medium (not including computers) you wish - graphite, charcoal, pen and ink, conte, pastel, oil, etc. Maybe I will post a challenge, say every other week or until the line of celebrity portraits waiting to be featured in 'spotlight' gets too short.  Here's the first one:

A cup or mug of beverage set with a rose

and a teaspoon at its base

 "Afternoon Tea"

Graphite pencil drawing by Sherry Bevins

6 x 4"

To email me your paintings/drawings, attach a clear image of your work in jpg format with your full name and send them to this address - artistdavidte@gmail.com. Also, please put 'still life challenge' on the subject bar, so I will know right away that the email is regarding the challenge. If you have a website or blog featuring your work, you may also include them in your submission. The challenge has no deadline, so feel free to send your artworks anytime.

I know the title of my blog says "Pencil Drawings of Celebrities", but over the past couple of years since I started turning out still life drawings, I've grown to love them also. I'll change it as soon as I think of a title to replace it. Anyway, if you have any suggestion regarding the challenge, don't hesitate to email me at the above address.

Meanwhile, have fun with the challenge.

Portrait of Elvis Presley

This Sunday, the celebrity spotlight is on.... Elvis Presley. You may remember that he made a cameo appearance two weeks ago, when Ann-Margret was our featured celebrity.

                       

 8 x 10 inches (20 x 25 cm)

Graphite and charcoal on Canson Grain

I like to put in as much detail as possible, especially when drawing the face whether I am using graphite or charcoal. I like to use charcoal for the skin tones because it seems to have the texture of real skin. On the other hand, I like to give the eyes more detail. I tried to draw the eyes and other features using graphite pencils while charcoal is used for the skin tones.

Above is the result of the experiment. This portrait was done last year. The downside is that the glare on the eyes really stands out when viewed at certain angles which I find quite annoying. Also, when viewed in certain lighting conditions, the portrait ended up looking ghostly. I think I'm going back to the traditional principle of working with one medium for an artwork.

                                  (Image is from Doctormacro)

 A shot of Elvis' famous rock and roll dance number in the film

                 "Jailhouse Rock"              

Elvis Presley is one of the music industry's legendary performers. He also crossed over to the movie industry with as much success. His movies are mostly musically oriented, although his first film, "Love Me Tender" has a more serious note than many of his later and more popular ones. The well known song of the same title was only used as its theme, not sung the usual way in front of an audience like in "Blue Hawaii" and "Viva Las Vegas". The largest portion of Elvis' films is quite light in terms of plot. They primarily serve to present our featured celebrity's rock and roll prowess. Nevertheless, they are really well worth watching.   

Portrait of Hedy Lamarr

This week, we give the spotlight to.... Hedy Lamarr. I know, she is not as popular as the others featured here, but I've watched a few of her films and I think she was a great actress.

                                     8 x 10 inches (20 x 25 cm)

                                Graphite pencil on Canson Grain

I had a hard time drawing the hair, resulting in several erasures. Hmm... in the end, I'm still not pleased with the outcome of the hair. But I'm quite satisfied with the face. I really need more practice on the hair - like they said 'practice makes perfect'.

                                      (Image is from Doctormacro)              
       Hedy Lamarr in "Tortilla Flat" with Spencer Tracy (Not shown in photo)

Hedy Lamarr was an Austrian actress before making it to Hollywood. She starred in films opposite big stars like James Stewart and Spencer Tracy among others. I think that's about it, as I said I've only watched a few of her films so I only know a little about her movie appearances.