Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Final Elephant


Not the power to remember, but its very opposite, the power to forget, is a necessary condition for our existence.

Sholem Asch

They say elephants never forget ~ maybe that's why this one looks so deep in thought. Imagine never being able to forget anything! At any rate, I don't think I will forget this elephant's face for awhile. Although I could probably go on shading forever I think this is just about all I'm going to do on this one. This was a real exercise in patience. Like all drawings though, it was just a matter of darks and lights.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Elephant Portrait 2



It is in vain to hope to please all alike. Let a man stand with his face in what direction he will, he must necessarily turn his back on one half of the world.

George Dennison Prentice

Well, I have gone over the entire drawing once in an effort to give it depth. This is the process I enjoy the most, the fine tuning. It's amazing how much of the work now is done with the eraser. First the dark lines are put in, then some shading, then some blending, and finally some erasing. This process is done over and over until the final figure takes on a true look of three dimension. It's like pulling his face out of a snowstorm!

Monday, July 11, 2011

Elephant Portrait



That which is bitter to endure may be sweet to remember.

Thomas Fuller

Well, I've finally gotten all the major lines drawn in and an indication of where most of the shadowing is going to go. Now it's just a matter of spending lots of time getting the right amount of blending done and the right amount of shading. To get a good feel for the all the wrinkles I'm also going to have to go back and pay close attention to each line ~ they need to be very dark in some places to indicate depth and much lighter, almost invisible, in other places to indicate just slight indentations in the surface of the elephant's face. Lots of fine tuning to be done!

Tuesday, July 5, 2011



If, after I depart this vale, you ever remember me and have thought to please my ghost, forgive some sinner and wink your eye at some homely girl.

H. L. Mencken

Known for their ability to never forget, elephants seem amazingly calm. If they are really remembering everything they have clearly found a way to deal with their past. They seem to know how to live in the present and let their hurts and cares of yesterday behind. What a great outlook to have! I have decided to do a series of drawings of elephants. My thanks to Wet Canvas for this great photograph. An extreme close-up, it's going to rely heavily on getting each wrinkle in place and then a great deal of shading to give his face some depth. I am working with only graphite pencil but will probably add a little bit of charcoal at the end.