Sketching with Beast'sbelle: "Portrait of a Lady" ;)

Hey guys, sorry I've been MIA for a while.  My mom, sister-in-law, and I all had our combined birthday family dinner on Saturday, and things just haven't really slowed down since then.  Plus, this was one of those weeks where I've been behind on everything:  housework, the checkbook, blogging...you name it.  So instead of being responsible, stepping up to the plate, and getting stuff done, I chose to pig out on Weight Watchers ice cream bars and try out a new TV show, playing the total avoidance card.  Disappointing, I know.  I just like to remind you guys that I'm not perfect...I've got my issues to work on, too.  Thankfully, the Lord doesn't give up on me! (I sure would have by now!) ;)

Anyway, tonight I set aside some time to sit and sketch with my daughters.  It was so fun spending time with them, watching them create their own masterpieces, and teaching them by example.  It's been a while since I've taken the time to draw.  I really enjoyed myself. :)  I thought you guys might like to see what I ended up with. :)

So here's what I started with.  I was kind of going for the Regency period with the hairdo, albeit ultra romanticized. ;)  Hey, it was just for fun.  I'm not an art major or anything. :}

Details of the face...

...and the roses.

I went over the entire drawing in pen, which was quite a process.  Any of you who have ever used a ball-point pen to trace a drawing on sketch paper will feel my pain. ;)  I was especially frustrated trying to outline the roses!  

When I had outlined everything, I erased the pencil underneath.

Now for some color!  I decided to use colored pencils this time around.  I started by adding a light pink shade to her cheeks and a slightly darker shade to her lips.

Next I filled in her skin color.  After this picture was taken, I added some extra shading to her skin tone to make it more lifelike.

To add some definition to her eyes, I used light brown on her eyelid.  I colored her actual eyelid darker and gradually colored lighter until I reached her eyebrow.

I used green, blue, and brown for her eye colors.  I was going for a hazel effect.

Her hair was next.  I lightly colored a reddish brown underneath and then used the dark brown pencil to go over it.

Her headband and shawl came next.  I used various shades of blue.

For the finishing touches, I colored in the roses and used a goldenrod colored pencil for her earring and necklace.  

I'm pretty happy with the way she turned out, although her hair ended up a little wilder than I had originally planned. :}  Also, her ear is a bit off as far as placement, but the ear itself turned out pretty awesome!! :D

I'm normally super intimidated by ears, so I usually draw girls with long hair that covers their ears.  Tonight, I asked Middle Gal to model her ear for me. ;)  She did a super job...that's the best ear I've drawn in a long time! :)

Here are a few more detail shots: 

I'm not 100% satisfied with the roses, but I suppose they'll do for this time.

I think this red one is my favorite.  I didn't like how bright the red colored pencil was in this particular set, so I used the black colored pencil to tone the red down a notch.

Overall, I'm very pleased with how it turned out.  I've missed drawing just for the fun of it. :)  Plus, it's good for my ego.  My daughters have informed me that I'm the best artist in the world. ;)