Evidence of Your Journey

I knew that if I put in the time sketching on a regular basis, I’d see improvement in my work. As I look back through my sketchbooks, the evidence is there. The evolution of those faces stares back at me from the pages, each one a building block for the work that followed. When people ask, “How long does it take to draw or paint a face?” the answer is those sketchbooks. Literally it takes mere minutes to sketch a portrait, but figuratively the years of practice contained in these sketchbooks hold the true answer to that question.

I have learned many things on my own journey, and I’d like to share some of them with you. Some of these things I did, and others are things I wished I’d done differently.

• Don’t throw away your sketches even if you really don’t like one. These are evidence of your journey, each a stepping-stone in the development of your signature style. I can’t tell you how much I wish I had kept my sketchbooks from my youth and even into my adult life. I have a few, but I kept only things I liked, and that is not representative of my journey. So keep them all: the good, the bad and the ugly. They are your evidence, and one day you’ll be able to look back and see how much you’ve grown!
• Use the same sketch multiple times to fully explore it and to strengthen your portrait skills. Tracing is a good thing! Tracing your own work builds memory into your artistic muscles. Do you like the eyes on one sketch, nose on another and mouth on yet another? Use a lightbox, the lightbox app for iPads or even a window to trace your favorite features from each of your drawings onto one face. Then you can practice tracing, drawing and building on that face.
• You can sketch from your imagination, from a photo or real-life object, or from a map or diagram, or incorporate a little of both your imagination and your reference. This is my favorite method. You can also make maps from photos and then draw from those.
• One key to creating a look of your own is to add a bit of you to your portrait, making it a self-portrait of sorts. Take a facial feature you like or maybe even one that you don’t like and incorporate that into your work. (The slight bump on the noses of some of my sketches is from my face, and not necessarily something I like, but it’s me!) This puts your signature on your faces and helps you develop a look that is your own.
• Instead of getting hung up on making one sketch perfect, move on and create another. This is vital to moving forward. I don’t ever spend more than half an hour and most times 5 or 10 minutes on a sketch. The time will vary from person to person based on how comfortable they are with a pencil and how much practice they’ve put in. When I’m done, I turn the page. Getting all caught up on one sketch, erasing and redrawing, can quickly spiral into frustration. Let your people be who they are meant to be.
• The last tip is simple: Draw. Put in the time, just a few minutes a day, and you will see improvement. If you want to draw faces, what are you waiting for? Grab a piece of paper and a pencil and begin!

A Colorful Journey Ahead

by Pam Carriker

acrylic and graphite on watercolor paper

12" × 9" (30cm × 23cm)