D.B.'s Selfie

D.B.'s Selfie. Original: Graphite on Canson multimedia paper.

I have come to love drawing flowing things -- liquids, cloth, and especially hair. The dynamic flow of this model's hair was challenging but very gratifying to work on.

For artists who struggle with drawing hair, it's helpful to squint your eyes and plot out the dark and light areas, rather than drawing hair strand by strand. We know that's what it is, but that's not really what our eyes see when we look at a person's hair, except for a stray strand or tress here and there. Drawing strand by strand seems logical, but usually results in "spaghetti hair." Viewing the head of hair as a single object, like a vase or sculpture helps to depict it more realistically and convincingly.