pencil

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This simple contour drawing of myself was completed around 2001 for a drawing class at the University of New Orleans. I was the only engineering student in the class.

Even though the rest of my classmates were artists, I had the best grade by far in that class and some of the best works. Why? Simple: artists are conditioned to have no self-discipline. Society tends to see artists as inconsistent and dependent on “inspiration” to get anything done and instead of overcoming the stereotype, artists tend to fall into a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The real truth is that “inspiration”, just like the “muse”, is a fleeting myth and any artist who depends on it won’t get anything done. Remember: being is artist is a career choice, just like deciding to be a doctor, a lawyer, or a plumber. Like any career choice, you have to discipline yourself and work hard if you want to be successful.

I read a lot of National Geographic. The stories are enlightening and the images are breathtaking. This is definitely a magazine that I don’t throw away at the end of the month. I have used the images in National Geographic many times as a reference, and this drawing is a perfect example.

I don’t really remember what the article was about, but I do know that it was published about 8 years ago and it had a regular American town with people that you’d see every day.

The photo I used as a reference for this drawing struck me as very tender. The woman was busy sewing a garment while talking to the girl, and the girl seemed tickled with what was being said. Or maybe she was reacting to the photographer? Who knows. In any event, the expressions on both of their faces was priceless and I had to draw them.

As for the drawing itself, it is pencil on watercolor paper (I liked the roughness of it). At the time I was experimenting with making the outlines of subjects much darker than the shadows within them, and I think it works very nicely for this piece.