Endangered

I have always been drawn to interesting portraits and I have an over stuffed file of them that continues to grow. Some came from magazines and newspapers, some from the web. Still others are old photographs with interesting faces. The file is labeled, simply, "Faces" and I turn to it whenever I want a reference for drawing and/or painting. I have no concern for whether or not the finished work is a good likeness of the reference, only that the proportions are correct and the expression is true.

A few things became my inspiration as the Round Robin journal for the 5th month arrived. I had been reading some articles about endangered species and how that relates to humans and our environment. I had also just received a sample pack of Liquitex fluid paints accompanied by a letter asking me to use them and report back to the company what I thought of them. There were just two colors; red and blue. I wondered if I could create something interesting using only those two colors.

I began the spread by tearing some old book pages that would otherwise be destined for the trash and gluing the pieces down at different angles to cover the entire two pages. I love starting this way, knowing full well that this layer is generally covered with paint and offers a wonderful texture to the finished work. Over this paper, I laid down a thin layer of white gesso. As it was drying, I started across the room for my "Faces" file, and that's when I spotted a new stack that hadn't yet made it into the file. The top portrait was an old photograph of Michael Stipe of R.E.M. fame. Well, it couldn't get any more interesting than that, so I began to sketch him onto the page with a charcoal pencil. A damp brush moved the charcoal around just enough to leave shading where it was needed. He seemed to be looking toward something, so I decided to put a bird on his shoulder. (Don't ask why...I have no idea.)

Now for the red and blue paint. I decided to paint the entire portrait using just the blue and a little white gesso and I was actually quite pleased with the monochromatic result. The paint flowed nicely and I enjoyed using it. That left the red paint for lettering and a little black Stabilo All for shadowing the letters. Yes! I had accomplished my goal of working with two colors of paint (plus white gesso) and I had even managed to make a statement in the end. I hope the recipient of this two-page spread will be very happy.