Week 1: Altangerel

colored pencil on toned paper. 12 x 12 in.

I spent a lot of time with this man in Mongolia over the past few months. He is one of my very favorite people, and has one of the most lovable faces I have ever seen.

I learned this sketching technique at an art camp several years ago and I love how it makes images appear realistic and 3-D with very few pencil marks. Our teacher told us to find what we wanted in the paper and then to "sculpt" it with as few lines as possible. The whole drawing is done in a medium brown contay crayon or colored pencil and then the highlights are brought out with white, and the shadows are darkened with dark brown. Try it! It is really easier than it looks.