I could say “I am bad at making faces” and never attempt to make any. Or I could say, “The faces I make don’t look like a portrait artist’s, but I can continue practicing and maybe, some day, they’ll look good enough to me.”
Well, I’m choosing to say the latter. Each of these were made in under a minute on dictionary paper.
Why under a minute? Because I am not trying to perfect the art of portraiture. I am merely trying to loosen myself up, get over my fear and not think while I am sketching and coloring. The one-minute deadline allows me to go easy on myself. It forces me to work fast and be nimble.
It gives me permission to fail. And be ok with it…because when I look at these faces given the context of that one-minute time frame, I can say, “Heck, I did a pretty good job making a recognizable face!”
It’s not failure. It’s progress.
I don’t like these faces. Far from it. But I own them with pride. Because progress, in my books, is the same as success 🙂
Update: these faces are finding a home in my Opaque White Craft Plastic journal and I can’t wait to finish this project and share the final piece with you.
Supplies used:
- Dictionary paper
- Derwent Inktense colored pencils
- Water mister
- Caramel D’ache NeoColorII crayons
- Stabilo Woody pencils
- Dr. PhMartin’s acrylic inks
Have you ever tried making faces with the timer on? Let me know in the comments.
They look great Mansi, I see faces, I see art and I would say Wow!! under one minute Wow!
Much better then Picasso where I most of the time only think he painted a face becaus I see an eye LOL.
I can’t wait to see your journal.
Thank you so much for sharing, stay safe and have a wonderful day.