Drawing Ability
"Big Ben," 2023, Charcoal
Materials: vine charcoal, white gesso
Dimensions: 17x24
Project Guidelines
In my senior art class at my high school, I was tasked to draw a portrait using charcoal and white gesso. It couldn't be a self-portrait or a portrait of someone I knew personally.
Process
I first started with a sketch of Adam Driver's face using a reference of one of his photos. The sketch was transferrred to charcoal paper and then the midtones were added first. I spent a lot of time on the eyes: erasing and redrawing them until I thought they were perfect. Art projects in my high school class usually had about 5-6 days to complete them in 120 minute intervals. I spent every moment I could during the school day to work on this piece; my homeroom time, study halls, and part of my lunch period was dedicated to this piece, I was completely obsessed with it. After I was content with the shading I went in with white gesso to add some small highlights.
I love this piece, although I still see plenty of flaws, it best showcases my drawing ability. This perfectly captures my love and skill for portraiture. From my dedication to my nitpicking detailing, I think I delivered. "Big Ben" won Best of Show in my county high school art show in 2023.
